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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
10-6,1-3Atlantic 10
La Salle
8-8,2-1Atlantic 10
Men’s Basketball Edged By La Salle 78-77
January 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Noah Fernandes had a team-high 15 points.
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team dropped a 78-77 decision to La Salle on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center (2,853). The Minutemen had a chance to win it on the game's final possession but ultimately dropped to 1-3 in Atlantic 10 play (10-6 Overall).
It was a game defined by two halves, with the Minutemen outscoring the Explorers 44-38 in the first half but La Salle responded with 40 second half points to UMass' 33.
For Massachusetts, senior guard Noah Fernandes had a team-high 15 points to go along with five assists, while freshman guard RJ Luis added 14 points.
UMass opened the game on an 8-2 run, including a pair of Fernandes baskets and a Matt Cross three pointer.
Brandon Martin kept the first half lead at six points, 30-24, when he connected on a reverse layup with seven minutes left in the half.
Dyondre Dominguez shot 4-for-8 from the field for 10 points in 12 first half minutes, capped off by an emphatic dunk with two minutes left to extend the UMass lead, 37-30.
Fernandez then closed out the first half scoring with a three, giving UMass the 44-38 lead at the break.
Three and a half minutes into the second half, La Salle tied it 48-48 and the teams traded baskets before the Explorers were able to take a 58-53 lead.
A Wildens Leveque dunk and an Isaac Kante put-back pulled the Minutemen back to within one at 60-59.
After the Explorers again extended the lead to 77-71, the Minutemen went to work with under four minutes left to play. Tafara Gapare hit a layup and Luis added two free throws with 2:45 left to cut it to a 77-75.
La Salle connected on one free throw before Leveque's thunderous dunk made it 78-77 game with 43 seconds remaining.
The UMass defense then held La Salle to a shot clock violation to give the Minutemen the ball and a chance to win with 16.7 seconds remaining, but they could not come up with the game-winning basket.
Massachusetts will remain home with a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 14 against Rhode Island at the Mullins Center (tickets).
For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter at @UMassMBB, on Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
