LEAN, N.Y. - One game does not a turning point make, but at least for one night the University of Massachusetts Minutemen were able to resuscitate a sputtering season and hold out some hope that better times might lie ahead.

In what was clearly its most important win of the year, UMass held off a frightening St. Bonaventure run Tuesday night to post a 63-59 victory at a packed and hostile Reilly Center.

"We just played hard and we played together," said head coach Bruiser Flint. "Everyone gave us all they could. That's all I can ask."

The Minutemen rode the broad shoulders of Tyrone Weeks in this one. Playing with an explosiveness that hadn't really been there since the opening week of the season, Weeks registered 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. The key, Weeks said, was a feeling of desperation that the team felt coming into the game.

"I did," he said. "The whole team did. We knew that this was one of those games we had to win."

In improving to 7-9 (2-2), UMass never trailed. The Minutemen, though, came close to squandering a 13-point lead in the final eight minutes. They seemed to wear down and lose some of their focus and confidence, committing several costly turnovers (23 total).

With 15 seconds left, the Bonnies had their one and only chance to tie the game. Trailing 60-57, they got an open look for a 3-pointer, but freshman Tim Winn's effort clanged hard off the rim. Shandue McNeill, all 5-feet, 7-inches of him, somehow snaked in for the rebound, but his wild shot missed everything. UMass' Lari Ketner snared the rebound, and after a moment of controversy when the Minutemen tried to send Weeks to the foul line, responded well by hitting both shots.

Winn's layup with five seconds left cut the gap to 62-59. Edgar Padilla then was fouled in the backcourt with 2.5 seconds remaining. Padilla left the proverbial door open slightly by missing the first shot, but then slammed it shut by nailing the next one for the final margin.

For St. Bonaventure (7-6, 1-3), this was a galling loss. Coming into the game, the Bonnies had lost 17 straight contests to UMass, but actually entered as the favored team -- a consequence of UMass' recent struggles and the Bonnies' improvement. St. Bonaventure did get a career-high-tying 29 points from Rashaan Palmer, but struggled all night from the perimeter. The Bonnies hit just 32.2 percent from the field, including a woeful 3-22 from behind the arc.

"We have to find ways to win, and part of that is shooting the basketball," said a disappointed Bonnie coach Jim Baron.

UMass had a fine shooting night, hitting 48.7 percent. The Minutemen increased the percentage with more fast-break baskets than they had registered in a long time. Often splitting the Bonnie press with a three-guard offense, UMass was strong with the ball. Carmelo Travieso, scoring most of his points from inside, had 18 points on 7-12 shooting. Lari Ketner was also strong with 12 points, including 8-11 from the line. After shooting just one free throw Sunday against Virginia Tech, UMass shot 30 last night, hitting an impressive 23.

Next up for the Minutemen is Boston College at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Fleet Center.

MASSACHUSETTS (63)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Travieso        40  7-12   3-4   1-8  0  3   18
Weeks           39  6-11   7-7  2-14  0  4   19
Ketner          24   2-4  8-11   3-4  1  4   12
Clarke          37   2-5   0-0   0-2  1  4    4
Padilla         30   1-3   1-2   0-3  9  4    4
Smith           11   0-2   2-2   0-1  0  1    2
Babul            4   0-0   0-1   1-1  0  0    0
Basit           15   1-2   2-3   2-3  0  2    4
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TOTALS         200 19-39 23-30  9-36 11 22   63
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Percentages: FG-.487, FT-.767. 3-Point Goals:
2-5, .400 (Travieso 1-3, Padilla 1-2). Team
rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 5 (Weeks 2, Ketner 2,
Travieso). Turnovers: 23 (Padilla 8, Travieso 5,
Clarke 3, Ketner 3, Weeks 3, Basit). Steals: 7
(Clarke 2, Travieso 2, Ketner, Padilla, Weeks).


ST BONAVENTURE (59)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Palmer          39  9-15 11-14   3-7  0  2   29
Durham          17   0-0   2-2   2-3  0  1    2
Blackwell       30   1-7   0-0   1-5  1  3    2
Winn            33  2-10   0-2   1-4  1  3    4
Mcneill         31  5-13   1-2   1-3  2  4   13
Capers           2   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  1    0
Cyrus           11   0-1   0-0   2-2  0  1    0
Mcfarland       19   2-8   4-5   2-2  0  5    9
Singleton        8   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Lumsdon         10   0-3   0-0   0-0  0  2    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 19-59 18-25 12-26  4 22   59
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.322, FT-.720. 3-Point Goals:
3-22, .136 (Palmer 0-1, Winn 0-7, Mcneill 2-4,
Capers 0-1, Mcfarland 1-6, Singleton 0-1, Lumsdon
0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Durham
2, Palmer). Turnovers: 11 (Mcneill 6, Palmer 2,
Blackwell, Singleton, Winn). Steals: 10 (Winn 4,
Mcneill 3, Palmer 2, Durham).

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Massachusetts      29   34  -   63
St Bonaventure     22   37  -   59
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Technical fouls: None.  A: 6,000. Officials:
Jerry Donaghy, Frank Scagliotta, Duke Edsall.