Minutemen Fall To Colonials, 77-68

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team fell to George Washington on Wednesday evening at home in the Mullins Center, 77-68. Trent Buttrick finished with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to post his second career double-double for the Minutemen (10-12 Overall, 3-7 Atlantic 10).

Buttrick knocked down two 3-pointers in the early moments to pace a 4-of-5 start from range for the Minutemen as they pulled out to a 15-8 lead. The graduate forward scored 10 points in the first half and hauled in six of his 11 boards in the first 20 minutes.

Rich Kelly added an early triple to set the table for a 6-of-8 showing from the field on the night for the guard. Kelly finished 2-of-4 from 3-point range as he finished with 15 points and four assists for the Minutemen.

The Colonials (9-13 Overall, 5-5 Atlantic 10) followed with a 7-0 run to help them take their first lead of the evening at 10:50 on their way to gaining a 20-17 advantage. George Washington shot just over 51-percent from the field in the opening half to take a 43-38 lead into the halftime break.

After making it a one-possession game six times in the first eight minutes of the second half, the Minutemen used a quick 6-0 run to make it a tie ballgame at 57-57 with 9:54 remaining. Michael Steadman started the run with an and-one effort before a Javohn Garcia pull-up 3-pointer on a fastbreak brought the game to a deadlock for the first time in the second half. Steadman finished with seven points and four boards off the bench.

George Washington answered with a 6-1 run after the game was tied again at 61-61 to take a 67-62 lead heading into the final five minutes of action. UMass came within four points with 2:24 remaining on a Buttrick layup before a James Bishop layup the following possession stretched the Colonial lead back to six. Bishop finished with a game-high 24 points while Brayon Freeman and Brendan Adams each added 15 points.

The Minutemen remain home in the Mullins Center this weekend for a Saturday matchup against Saint Joseph's at noon.

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

Next Event

Team Stats

Trent Buttrick

Rich Kelly

C.J. Kelly

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Players Mentioned

Trent Buttrick

Javohn Garcia

Rich Kelly

Michael Steadman

Players Mentioned

Trent Buttrick

Javohn Garcia

Rich Kelly

Michael Steadman

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics