University of Massachusets Athletics
Wednesday, January 4
Amherst, Mass.
7:30 PM
University of Massachusetts
10-4,1-1Atlantic 10
90
vs
81
Saint Louis
9-6,1-1Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Saint Louis
29
52
81
Massachusetts
40
50
90
UMass Bounces Back With 90-81 Win Over Saint Louis
January 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Noah Fernandes scored a season-high 26 points to lead all scorers and added seven assists.
AMHERST, Mass. – Noah Fernandes scored 17 of his season-high 26 points in the second half as the Massachusetts Minutemen came away with a 90-81 win over Saint Louis on Wednesday night in the Mullins Center. RJ Luis chipped in 11 points and five rebounds as part of nine Minutemen (10-4 Overall, 1-1 Atlantic 10) that scored six or more on the night.
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Luis helped start a 15-2 run over five minutes of game time for the Minutemen with a block followed by a 3-pointer on the offensive end to put UMass ahead 29-23 with 7:13 to go in the half. The run concluded with 2:11 to go in the half as UMass built its largest lead of the game to that point at 36-25. The Minutemen regained the lead just prior to the scoring run on a T.J. Weeks Jr. triple and held the lead for the final 28:28.
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There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first 11:32 of action before UMass took control to bring a 40-29 lead into the halftime break. UMass forced Saint Louis (9-6 Overall, 1-1 Atlantic 10) into nine first half turnovers while committing just four in the opening 20 minutes and nine on the night.
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Saint Louis opened the second half by shooting 5-of-7 from the field to trim its deficit to four points at 46-42 with 15:34 to go. The Billikens went on a 12-2 scoring run over 4:24 to pull within one before the Minutemen answered with a scoring run of their own.
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Tafara Gapare started the run with a 3-pointer as part of back-to-back triples with fellow freshman Luis. The Minutemen put together a two-minute, 11-1 run to pull ahead by 11 at 57-46. Gapare finished with eight points and six rebounds to go along with a career-high five blocks.
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Isaac Kante joined Fernandes and Luis in double figures with 11 points while shooting 5-of-7 at the line. UMass shot 74-percent from the stripe in the game and went 16-of-21 in the second half. Dyondre Dominguez added nine points on 4-of-5 from the field while Keon Thompson chipped in seven on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. Matt Cross finished with six points and a team-leading seven boards.
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Fernandes added seven assists and finished the night 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
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Yuri Collins finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 assists for a Saint Louis team that shot nearly 60-percent in the second half while converting on 52-percent of its shots for the game. Sincere Parker added 15 for the Billikens.
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The Minutemen return to the road on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off at George Washington in a nationally televised game on USA Network.
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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.
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Luis helped start a 15-2 run over five minutes of game time for the Minutemen with a block followed by a 3-pointer on the offensive end to put UMass ahead 29-23 with 7:13 to go in the half. The run concluded with 2:11 to go in the half as UMass built its largest lead of the game to that point at 36-25. The Minutemen regained the lead just prior to the scoring run on a T.J. Weeks Jr. triple and held the lead for the final 28:28.
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There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first 11:32 of action before UMass took control to bring a 40-29 lead into the halftime break. UMass forced Saint Louis (9-6 Overall, 1-1 Atlantic 10) into nine first half turnovers while committing just four in the opening 20 minutes and nine on the night.
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Saint Louis opened the second half by shooting 5-of-7 from the field to trim its deficit to four points at 46-42 with 15:34 to go. The Billikens went on a 12-2 scoring run over 4:24 to pull within one before the Minutemen answered with a scoring run of their own.
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Tafara Gapare started the run with a 3-pointer as part of back-to-back triples with fellow freshman Luis. The Minutemen put together a two-minute, 11-1 run to pull ahead by 11 at 57-46. Gapare finished with eight points and six rebounds to go along with a career-high five blocks.
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Isaac Kante joined Fernandes and Luis in double figures with 11 points while shooting 5-of-7 at the line. UMass shot 74-percent from the stripe in the game and went 16-of-21 in the second half. Dyondre Dominguez added nine points on 4-of-5 from the field while Keon Thompson chipped in seven on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. Matt Cross finished with six points and a team-leading seven boards.
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Fernandes added seven assists and finished the night 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
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Yuri Collins finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 assists for a Saint Louis team that shot nearly 60-percent in the second half while converting on 52-percent of its shots for the game. Sincere Parker added 15 for the Billikens.
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The Minutemen return to the road on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off at George Washington in a nationally televised game on USA Network.
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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.
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Team Stats
SLU
UMass
FG%
.517
.462
3FG%
.320
.476
FT%
.524
.741
RB
37
36
TO
14
9
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
9
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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