Minutemen Rally In Second Half, Fall On The Road At Richmond In A-10 Opener

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team stormed back to pull within six points late but fell in the Atlantic 10 opener to Richmond on Wednesday night in the Robins Center, 80-72. The Minutemen (7-6 Overall, 0-1 Atlantic 10) finished with four double-figure scorers, led by Rich Kelly's 20 points while C.J. Kelly and Trent Buttrick each added 16 to go along with 10 from Noah Fernandes.

UMass fell behind early as Richmond (10-6 Overall, 1-2 Atlantic 10) used a pair of scoring runs to take a 20-9 lead before eventually leading by as many as 23 at 50-27 with just under a minute remaining in the first half.

The Minutemen closed out the half on a quick 4-0 run that extended over into the second after Buttrick opened the half with back-to-back 3-pointers to help UMass cap off a 10-0 run. Buttrick poured in 12 points in the first seven minutes of the second half and finished the night 3-of-5 from deep while pulling down seven rebounds.

Rich Kelly knocked down one of his four 3-pointers with 7:55 remaining to bring the Minutemen within 10 points on his way to finishing the night 4-of-5 from range. UMass shot 5-of-6 from deep to start the half and finished the final 20 minutes 6-of-8 from three to go along with a 50-percent showing from the field.

After Richmond answered with three consecutive made field goals, the Minutemen put together a 7-0 scoring run over 2:13 to pull within single digits of the Spiders for the first time since the 11:31 mark of the first and came within seven on a Michael Steadman jumper with 3:19 left. Steadman finished with a team-leading nine rebounds and added eight points off the bench.

Rich Kelly's fourth and final 3-pointer of the night came with 1:10 remaining and brought the Minutemen within six points heading into the final minute of play. UMass held Richmond without a field goal for the final 6:19 of action while the Spiders shot 6-for-6 from the line over the final three minutes to close out the contest.

The Minutemen return home to the Mullins Center Saturday for a noon matchup against Duquesne in the A-10 home opener.

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

Minutemen Rally In Second Half, Fall On The Road At Richmond In A-10 Opener

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Team Stats

Rich Kelly

Trent Buttrick

C.J. Kelly

Noah Fernandes

Players Mentioned

Trent Buttrick

Noah Fernandes

C.J. Kelly

Rich Kelly

Michael Steadman

Players Mentioned

Trent Buttrick

Noah Fernandes

C.J. Kelly

Rich Kelly

Michael Steadman

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics