Courtesy of UMassAthletics.com.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Terrell Vinson scored a career-high 22 points and Chaz Williams netted 20 points as the UMass men’s basketball team outlasted Elon 78-73 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at the Mass Mutual Center. The game was a back-and-forth affair with 11 ties and six lead changes until the Minutemen took control in the bonus period.
With the win, UMass improves to 5-3 overall, while Elon falls to 6-4 overall.
After regulation ended in a 66-66 tie, the teams traded four-point runs to stay knotted at 70 each with 1:47 left in overtime. Jesse Morgan’s lay-up with 1:39 to go, his first points of the game, ignited an 8-to-1 run for the Minutemen to seal the win.
Vinson’s 22 points came primarily at the charity stripe where he was 13-for-14 on the day including 12 straight until taking his final two attempts with five seconds left in overtime.
The two teams went into intermission tied at 33-33 after neither was able to pull away in the first half. Both teams managed five-point leads in the opening stanza but fought back to pull the game even each time.
The second half saw UMass begin to pull away taking a nine-point lead 51-52 with 9:31 to go thanks to aggressive play inside the paint. The Minutemen hit two lay-ups and five free throws in the stretch after relying primarily on outside shots in the first half.
The Phoenix were able to adjust and used a 14-to-6 run of its own to close within four points, 62-58, capped by a Jack Isenbarger three-pointer with 2:45 to go.
Elon then hit four-of-six free throws to keep clawing back before Tanner Samson’s three-pointer with eight seconds remaining tied the game at 66-66.
UMass had a chance to go back ahead when Williams was fouled as he drove the lane with 2.2 seconds left. He missed both free throw attempts with Sebastian Koch pulling own the rebound and calling timeout for Elon with 2.1 seconds on the clock.
After inbounding the ball, Elon got off a desperation half court shot that was well wide forcing the overtime period.
In addition to his 20 points, Williams nearly had a double-double with nine assists. Sampson Carter had a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Maxie Esho also had a big day for the Minutemen with eight points, nine rebounds, and three steals.
Elon was led by Isenbarger whose 22 points tied Vinson for game-high honors. The guard also added six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Lucas Troutman had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Koch finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
UMass shot 22-of-55 (40.0%) for the game including 31-of-47 from the free throw line. Elon was 23-of-77 (29.9%) for the game in part to a tough day shooting beyond the perimeter hitting just 8-of-35 three point shots.
Leave a Reply