University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, January 9
Amherst, Mass.
4 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
3-3,2-1Atlantic 10
83
vs
67
La Salle
5-6,2-2Atlantic 10
1
2
F
La Salle
21
46
67
Massachusetts
45
38
83
All-Around Effort Sends Massachusetts Past La Salle, 83-67
January 09, 2021 | Men's Basketball
Pierre and McCrory lead four Minutemen in double-figures with 15 points each
AMHERST, Mass. – The UMass men's basketball team (3-3, 2-1) used a 17-2 first half run, received points from nine different players and never looked back on Saturday at the Mullins Center in an 83-67 victory over La Salle (5-6, 2-2).
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Captain Carl Pierre (5-of-13 overall, 3-of-10 from three) and Cairo McCrory (15 points; 13 in the second half, seven rebounds) led four Minutemen in double-figures. Noah Fernandes got it done everywhere on the afternoon, flirting with a triple-double with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes of action, while Tre Mitchell had a near double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.Â
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As a team, Massachusetts shot 46% (26-of-56) on the day, marking the first time since the 1994-95 season that the Minutemen have scored at least 75 points in each of their first six games, and controlled the glass with a 43-33 rebounding edge.
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La Salle, meanwhile, was led by Anwar Gill with 14 points and five rebounds, while David Beatty had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 21 minutes. As a team, the Explorers were 28-of-68 from the floor and got to the line just nine times in the game.
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UMass came out of the gates hot, shooting 50% over the opening nine minutes to take a six-point lead at the under-12 with seven different Minutemen finding the scoresheet. Mitchell picked up right where he left off against La Salle in Philadelphia, dropping 10 points on 3-of-4 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line to lead all scorers, while the Minutemen used a 24-15 advantage on the glass to dictate much of the first half.
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La Salle, which found itself in trouble early after Beatty recorded two fouls in the first five minutes, got six points from Jahmir Brickus in the first half, but a 17-2 Massachusetts run midway through followed by a 12-0 run to close the half, highlighted by a Ronnie DeGray III emphatic dunk off a Noah Fernandes steal, helped the hosts to a 24-point lead at recess, 45-21.
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Massachusetts continued its hot shooting into the final 20 minutes, using a barrage of threes from Fernandes and Pierre to lead by as many as 27 in the opening moments of the second half.
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The Explorers, though, wouldn't go away, pressing the UMass offense and forcing six Minutemen turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half and allowing La Salle to climb within 15 with 7:38 to go, but that's as close as they would get as McCrory had 13 second half points to keep Massachusetts in charge.
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The Minutemen will be back in action on Wednesday when UMass hosts rival Rhode Island at the Mullins Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live on NESN and ESPN+.
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Captain Carl Pierre (5-of-13 overall, 3-of-10 from three) and Cairo McCrory (15 points; 13 in the second half, seven rebounds) led four Minutemen in double-figures. Noah Fernandes got it done everywhere on the afternoon, flirting with a triple-double with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes of action, while Tre Mitchell had a near double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.Â
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As a team, Massachusetts shot 46% (26-of-56) on the day, marking the first time since the 1994-95 season that the Minutemen have scored at least 75 points in each of their first six games, and controlled the glass with a 43-33 rebounding edge.
Â
La Salle, meanwhile, was led by Anwar Gill with 14 points and five rebounds, while David Beatty had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 21 minutes. As a team, the Explorers were 28-of-68 from the floor and got to the line just nine times in the game.
Â
UMass came out of the gates hot, shooting 50% over the opening nine minutes to take a six-point lead at the under-12 with seven different Minutemen finding the scoresheet. Mitchell picked up right where he left off against La Salle in Philadelphia, dropping 10 points on 3-of-4 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line to lead all scorers, while the Minutemen used a 24-15 advantage on the glass to dictate much of the first half.
Â
La Salle, which found itself in trouble early after Beatty recorded two fouls in the first five minutes, got six points from Jahmir Brickus in the first half, but a 17-2 Massachusetts run midway through followed by a 12-0 run to close the half, highlighted by a Ronnie DeGray III emphatic dunk off a Noah Fernandes steal, helped the hosts to a 24-point lead at recess, 45-21.
Â
Massachusetts continued its hot shooting into the final 20 minutes, using a barrage of threes from Fernandes and Pierre to lead by as many as 27 in the opening moments of the second half.
Â
The Explorers, though, wouldn't go away, pressing the UMass offense and forcing six Minutemen turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the second half and allowing La Salle to climb within 15 with 7:38 to go, but that's as close as they would get as McCrory had 13 second half points to keep Massachusetts in charge.
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The Minutemen will be back in action on Wednesday when UMass hosts rival Rhode Island at the Mullins Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live on NESN and ESPN+.
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Team Stats
LaS
UMass
FG%
.412
.464
3FG%
.292
.360
FT%
.444
.688
RB
33
43
TO
12
15
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
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