Courtesy of UMassathletics.com.
AMHERST, Mass. – A balanced scoring effort paced by four players in double-figures kept the UMass basketball team undefeated at the Mullins Center as the Minutemen defeated Towson 86-56 on Wednesday night. The Minutemen improve to a 6-2 record on the season. Freddie Riley led UMass with 15 points, while Raphiael Putney, Cady Lalanne, and Chaz Williams all hit double-digits as well. The depth of UMass was evident with a total of 51 points coming off the bench.
The Minutemen used 31 field goals, including 13 three-point shots to seal their victory against the Towson Tigers. They shot 43.1 percent overall and 46.4 percent from beyond the ark.
The Minutemen dished out a season-high 23 assists, with 9 coming from Jesse Morgan, a career-high. Williams had 8 assists on the night.
UMass held Towson to 21 field goals including just 2 three-point shots. Robert Nwankwo was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points and was the lone Tiger to score in the double-digits.
The Minutemen forced 26 turnovers over the course of the game and scored 37 points off of those turnovers.
Putney led all scorers in the first half with 10 points as UMass tied its season-high for first half points with 44. The outburst was sparked by a 17-4 run over a three minute, 39 second span that started with a Sean Carter alley-oop dunk and finished with a Williams three-pointer at the 6:58 mark.
The Minutemen went on a 12-0 run between 3:49 and 6:02 in the beginning of the second half to pad their lead. With about 12 minutes to go in the game, Matt Hill made his second appearance of the season where he scored six points, tying his career-high. Andrew McCarthy also received some minutes and scored his first points of the season.
UMass will return to action on Saturday at Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The opening tip-off is set for 1 PM and the game will be televised on ESPNU. It will be the first meeting between the Minutemen and the Hurricanes since 2007 when Miami won 72-71 in the Mullins Center.
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