Minutemen Storm Back To Beat Harvard, 87-77

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team stormed back from down 17 points with just over eight minutes left in the first half to pick up an 87-77 win over Harvard on Saturday in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen (6-3 Overall) moved to 5-0 on their home floor while the win marked the 100th career win for head coach Matt McCall and first over Harvard since Nov. 26, 2016.

Noah Fernandes poured in a game-high 24 points and added seven rebounds and nine assists as he just missed out on his second consecutive double-double. Fernandes helped keep UMass within reach early in the first half as the Crimson (5-4 Overall) used a 12-0 run to go ahead by 13 before eventually stretching their lead to 17 points at 33-16 with 8:16 remaining in the first. The junior scored 11 of UMass' first 16 points and finished with 17 in the opening half.

UMass came back after a timeout and put together a 22-5 run over 5:05 of game time to tie at 38-38 after a trio of T.J. Weeks Jr. free throws. Weeks Jr. finished with 21 points off the bench and converted seven of his 13 shots including 4-of-8 from 3-point range to go along with eight rebounds.

The Minutemen shot 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from 3-point land to help them take a 43-42 lead into the locker room at halftime. UMass shot 28-of-54 from the field and 15-of-29 from three and made 16-of-18 from the free throw line.

C.J. Kelly scored all 16 of his points in the second half to finish in double figures for the fourth consecutive game. The junior knocked down five of his six shot attempts, including 3-of-4 from range and hit his final triple to give UMass a nine-point lead with1:39 remaining.

UMass finished strong defensively down the stretch as they held the Crimson without a field goal for 2:20 minutes of action in the final three minutes and change to maintain the lead.

Rich Kelly finished with 10 points and dished out six assists while Greg Jones added six points, four rebounds and four assists in his first UMass start.

The Minutemen hit the road for their next two contests and open the road trip on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at Northeastern on NESN at 7 p.m.

For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Noah Fernandes

T.J. Weeks Jr.

C.J. Kelly

Rich Kelly

Players Mentioned

Noah Fernandes

Greg Jones

C.J. Kelly

Rich Kelly

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Players Mentioned

Noah Fernandes

Greg Jones

C.J. Kelly

Rich Kelly

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics