Second Half Spark Lifts UMass Over Rhode Island, 75-65

AMHERST, Mass. – Matt Cross scored a career-high 22 points as UMass used a 12-0 scoring run early in the second half to take control of an eventual 75-65 win over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen (11-6 Overall, 2-2 Atlantic 10) shot 48-percent from the field in the second half and posted a 48-36 rebound advantage on the day over the Rams (6-11 Overall, 2-3 Atlantic 10).

UMass got off to a slow start offensively by shooting 0-for-7 before scoring eight unanswered to grab a 14-12 lead. Dyondre Dominguez helped get the Minutemen going with a triple during the run and ended his day with 12 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Keon Thompson gave the Minutemen a boost off the bench as well, scoring six points with five boards in the first half on his way to finishing with nine points and career-best numbers in rebounds with seven and assists with five.

There were nine lead changes in the first half as the Minutemen took a 27-26 advantage into the halftime break. UMass shot just 28-percent in the first half but held Rhode Island to 30-percent from the field and 18-percent from deep and forced nine Ram turnovers.

The UMass scoring run began on a T.J. Weeks Jr. triple, his first field goal of the game, early in the second half as the Minutemen built its largest lead of the game until that point at 39-28. Rahsool Diggins scored all seven of his points during the scoring run to set a new career-high in the category. UMass never trailed the remainder of the game and held the lead for the final 19:14.

Rhode Island answered with an offensive stretch where it made 6-of-7 shots from the field after trailing by 11 to make it a five-point game with 9:10 to go. The Minutemen were held without a field goal for over four minutes during the stretch with Rhode Island trimming its deficit to four at 52-48.

After exchanging 6-0 scoring runs that made it a 66-61 game with 3:29 to go, UMass knocked down three free throws before a Weeks triple that made it a nine-point game with 1:27 on the clock. The Minutemen finished the day 23-of-30 from the free throw line for 77-percent led by Cross' 12-of-14 effort. Cross put the game out of reach with 25-seconds remaining by converting on two more from the stripe to bring it to a 75-65 final.

The Minutemen head out on the road for their next two league contests beginning with VCU on Tuesday night in Richmond, Va. at 7 p.m.

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.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Dyondre Dominguez

Keon Thompson

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics