University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, January 15
Amherst, Mass.
4:30 PM
University of Massachusetts
7-9,0-4Atlantic 10
68
vs
81
Rhode Island
11-4,2-1Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Rhode Island
43
38
81
Massachusetts
29
39
68
Men’s Hoops Falls To Rhode Island, 81-68
January 15, 2022 | Men's Basketball
Noah Fernandes finished with a team-high 18 points to go along with seven assists and four steals.
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team fell to Rhode Island on Saturday evening in the Mullins Center, 81-68. The Minutemen (7-9 Overall, 0-3 Atlantic 10) shot 13-of-24 for just over 54-percent from 3-point range to mark the 11th game with 10 or more made 3-pointers and were led offensively by Noah Fernandes' 18 points to go along with 14 from Rich Kelly.
UMass got out to a hot start from behind the arc, knocking down two of its first three attempts from range to build a 17-12 advantage eight minutes in. Fernandes scored seven points on 3-for-3 in the opening eight minutes to help the Minutemen take a five-point lead and added three boards, seven assists, and four steals.
Rhode Island (11-4 Overall, 2-1 Atlantic 10) used a 12-0 run to take a 24-17 lead with 8:15 left in the first half and took a 43-29 advantage into the locker room with the help of a 7-0 run to end the half. The Rams shot 52-percent from the field in the first half and nearly 53-percent for the game while the Minutemen finished the night shooting 36-percent.
The Rams took their largest lead of the night at 48-29 with 18:42 to go before the Minutemen began to chip away with the help of the 3-point shot. UMass finished the evening by knocking down five of its final six shot attempts from range, including three by Rich Kelly in the final five minutes of play.
Kelly hit back-to-back threes to bring the Minutemen within single digits for the first time since the 1:05 mark in the first as UMass cut the Rhode Island lead to 66-57 with 4:32 left. Kelly added another 3-pointer with just over three minutes remaining to help him finish the night 4-of-7 from range.
Greg Jones added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench while Trent Buttrick hauled in a game-high eight rebounds to go along with 11 points. T.J. Weeks Jr. added seven rebounds and made a pair of threes as six different Minutemen knocked down shots from range on the game.
The Minutemen are set to continue league play next week with a home and home against Saint Louis. UMass hosts the Billikens on Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to St. Louis, Mo. on Sunday for a 1:30 p.m. matchup.
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.
UMass got out to a hot start from behind the arc, knocking down two of its first three attempts from range to build a 17-12 advantage eight minutes in. Fernandes scored seven points on 3-for-3 in the opening eight minutes to help the Minutemen take a five-point lead and added three boards, seven assists, and four steals.
Rhode Island (11-4 Overall, 2-1 Atlantic 10) used a 12-0 run to take a 24-17 lead with 8:15 left in the first half and took a 43-29 advantage into the locker room with the help of a 7-0 run to end the half. The Rams shot 52-percent from the field in the first half and nearly 53-percent for the game while the Minutemen finished the night shooting 36-percent.
The Rams took their largest lead of the night at 48-29 with 18:42 to go before the Minutemen began to chip away with the help of the 3-point shot. UMass finished the evening by knocking down five of its final six shot attempts from range, including three by Rich Kelly in the final five minutes of play.
Kelly hit back-to-back threes to bring the Minutemen within single digits for the first time since the 1:05 mark in the first as UMass cut the Rhode Island lead to 66-57 with 4:32 left. Kelly added another 3-pointer with just over three minutes remaining to help him finish the night 4-of-7 from range.
Greg Jones added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench while Trent Buttrick hauled in a game-high eight rebounds to go along with 11 points. T.J. Weeks Jr. added seven rebounds and made a pair of threes as six different Minutemen knocked down shots from range on the game.
The Minutemen are set to continue league play next week with a home and home against Saint Louis. UMass hosts the Billikens on Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to St. Louis, Mo. on Sunday for a 1:30 p.m. matchup.
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.
Team Stats
URI
UMass
FG%
.525
.357
3FG%
.333
.542
FT%
.778
.682
RB
36
34
TO
14
14
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
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/ Men's Basketball
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