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Minutemen Shut Down Saint Joseph's UMass limits visitors to 30.8% shooting
In a defensive performance worthy of the retro uniforms worn on Wednesday night, Massachusetts defeated Saint Joseph's 69-51 at the Mullins Center. The Hawks (7-20, 2-11) shot just 30.8% for the game and went more than 11 minutes without a field goal to start the game, and as a result they find themselves in a dogfight for the final spot in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament. Anthony Gurley led UMass (15-11, 7-6) with a game-high 22 points and Sampson Carter added 10 off the bench as the Minutemen won their second consecutive game. Idris Hilliard led the Hawks with 10 points and Ronald Roberts added nine and seven rebounds. Saint Joseph's scored 17 points off of 18 UMass turnovers but those points had little impact as the Minutemen outscored the visitors 42-20 in the paint and 25-13 in bench points. A Roberts free throw opened the scoring with 17:38 remaining in the first half, and that would be the Hawks' lone lead as Gurley's first points of the game came on a layup assisted by Gary Correia. Correia would also connect with Terrell Vinson for is first basket of the game, and UMass would eventually lead 20-6 at the under-8 media timeout. The Hawks would be a little more productive offensively after that timeout, closing to within 22-10 on a Carl Baptiste layup with 5:06 remaining.
That only delayed the inevitable, as UMass would outscore Saint Joseph's 12-5 the remainder of the half, taking a 34-15 lead into the locker room. UMass outscored the visitors 22-6 in the paint, essentially getting whatever they wanted offensively while thoroughly frustrating the Hawks on the other end. The Minutemen pushed their lead out to 24 points less than a minute into the second half on five straight points from Gurley, and they'd lead by 26 at the under-16 timeout. After a Hashim Bailey basket made the score 50-25 with 13:55 remaining the Hawks fought back, going on a 10-0 run to cut the UMass lead to 15 just after the under-8. But that would be as close as Phil Martelli's team would get as UMass pushed the lead back out to 20 within a minute of the media timeout. UMass would lead by 24 on two different occasions in the final five minutes before the Hawks fought back, closing the scoring on a Baptiste layup with five seconds remaining. UMass next takes on La Salle on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, and the Hawks host St. Bonaventure on Saturday.
By: Raphielle Johnson |