ROVIDENCE, R.I. - Ajmal Basit came off the bench to score 15 points and get a career-high 19 rebounds as Massachusetts overcame foul trouble and kept No. 21 Rhode Island skidding with a 74-57 win Thursday night.
ROVIDENCE, R.I. - Ajmal Basit came off the bench to score 15 points and get a career-high 19 rebounds as Massachusetts overcame foul trouble and kept No. 21 Rhode Island skidding with a 74-57 win Thursday night.
 Ajmal Basit turned it up a notch against URI. |
Rhode Island (13-5, 5-2) had moved up one spot in the Top 25 despite losing to Cincinnati last Sunday. But the taller Minutemen dominated after the first seven minutes and handed the Rams their worst loss of the season.
UMass' top two big men, Tyrone Weeks and Lari Ketner, each picked up his fourth foul in the first five minutes of the second half. The 6-foot-9 Basit filled in brilliantly in a team-high 34 minutes.
Monty Mack had 22 points for UMass, while Rhode Island was led by Cuttino Mobley and Antonio Reynolds-Dean with 12 points and Joshua King with 11.
UMass turned a 16-14 deficit into a 33-18 lead with a 19-2 run and led 43-29 at halftime as it hit 59 percent of its shots. Its lead ranged from 13 to 21 points the rest of the way as the Rams made only seven field goals in the second half.
Rhode Island took its last lead, 16-14, on King's 3-pointer with 13:01 left in the first half. Jonathan DePina's 15-footer tied the game and started the 19-2 run.
Basit put UMass ahead to stay, 18-16, by converting an offensive rebound. Baskets by DePina, Charlton Clarke, Basit and Chris Kirkland gave the Minutemen 12 consecutive points and a 26-16 lead with 9:07 left in the half.
Video clip: Babul to Clarke to Babul for 2. 516k AVICourtesey: ESPN |
Ketner, second on the team in scoring and rebounding, had only four points and five rebounds before fouling out with the score 57-40 with 7:50 left in the game. Weeks, averaging double figures in points and rebounds, finished with eight points and five rebounds and fouled out with 1:52 to go.
Rhode Island has lost 18 of its last 19 games against Massachusetts, with its only win a 71-68 decision on Feb. 20, 1993.
ROVIDENCE - This time was supposed to be different. Much different.
The University of Rhode Island was supposed to be the better team this season. The Rams owned the Top 25 ranking. They had more experience and supposedly were bolstered by a coach who had brought a new spirit to the program. They were quicker, undefeated in home games. That was more than enough reason to believe URI would finally end its spell of futility against the University of Massachusetts last night.
Beyond that, UMass frontcourt starters Lari Ketner and Tyrone Weeks went to the bench with foul trouble early, presumably nullifying the Minutemen's rebounding edge.
But it wasn't enough. Not nearly. UMass was an underdog only on paper. The Minutemen outrebounded, outhustled, and completely dominated the 21st-ranked Rams in a surprisingly easy 74-57 Atlantic 10 win before a stunned Civic Center crowd of 12,412.
The Minutemen (15-5 overall, 7-0 league) shot 59 percent in the first half, led by as many as 16 before intermission, then held URI to 23 percent shooting in the second half for its ninth consecutive victory. The Minutemen have now won 10 consecutive games against URI and 18 of the last 19. The Rams (13-5, 5-2) have lost three of their last four, once again having their biggest weakness exposed: lack of a solid front line.
 Jon DePina ran an effective back-up point: 5 assists and 0 turnovers. |
''It hurts. I've been here for three years and we still haven't beaten them,'' said King. ''This is the best team we've had at URI for a while, so obviously, we figured we had a chance to beat them.''
Any possibility of ending the skid was dashed largely because UMass sophomore backup forward-center Ajmal Basit played his best collegiate game. He keyed the pivot attack with 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, helping the Minutemen to a 45-34 rebounding edge.
''I just wanted to come in and keep the intensity up on the rebounding end,'' said Basit, who played a team-high 34 minutes. ''I think our intensity had a lot to do with it.''
Weeks said it also had much to do with the fact UMass had read newspaper reports that URI, which was outrebounded by Cincinnati, 42-18, Sunday, said it would outrebound the Minutemen. ''We used that as a motivator,'' he said. ''That's why I don't make those kind of statements in the papers.''
That was more than enough incentive for the Minutemen to mount some impressive numbers. They outscored URI in the paint, 38-26, despite the fact that Ketner played just 14 minutes, Weeks 15. URI had just nine turnovers, but UMass scored 12 points off them. And the Minutemen held a team that had scored at least 80 points in 10 games to a season low.
''They were just on a different plane than we were tonight,'' said URI coach Jim Harrick. ''They just took our heads off, and when you take the head off, the body dies.''
The previous four meetings had all been close, the largest margin 6 points. Last night it was evident that wouldn't hold. Leading, 43-29, UMass outscored the Rams, 6-1, to start the second half - including a 4-point play by Mack - to go ahead, 49-30, with 16:04 left in the game.
The Minutemen then went through their customary lapse, shooting poorly and breaking down defensively, but the Rams could not capitalize. Then UMass regrouped and with 42 seconds left had its biggest lead, 74-53, after a free throw by DePina.
''Guys stepped up today,'' said UMass coach Bruiser Flint, who's at the helm of the only A-10 squad unbeaten in conference road games (4-0). ''We needed a big effort from a lot of our other guys [besides the starters] and we came up with it.''
ROVIDENCE -- The University of Rhode Island basketball team hoped
matters would change when it played against Massachusetts this season.
They did. But not the way the Rams wanted. They got worse.
Instead of losing a close, hotly contested game to the Minutemen, the Rams were drubbed last night, 74-57, before 12,414 at the Civic Center.
Unlike so many recent battles between the teams which have gone down to the wire, this one was a blowout for Massachusetts. The Minutemen took control early with a 19-2 run in the first half and dominated throughout.
The UMass victory was its 10th in a row over URI, and the 18th in the last 19 games between the teams.
 You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him. |
About the only problem Massachusetts had was deciding what it did best.
The Minutemen (15-5), who have now won nine in a row (seven straight in the Atlantic 10), played their usual superb defense. They did an especially good job against URI's two senior guards, Cuttino Mobley and Tyson Wheeler, holding the two to a combined 5 for 17 from the field.
URI (13-6, 5-2) shot a season-low 32 percent from the field (18 for 57) and was held to its lowest point total of the year. Its previous low was 67, against Connecticut.
``They chopped off the head and when you do that, the body dies,'' Harrick said. ``With us, the head is our guards. They took them out and the body died.''
The bigger, stronger Minutemen, as expected, won the battle on the backboards, outrebounding the Rams, 45-34. They did it even though their two big men, Lari Ketner and Tyrone Weeks, were plagued with foul trouble all night and played only 15 and 14 minutes, respectively.
Ajmal Basit, an emotional 6-foot-9, 248-pound sophomore, came off the bench in their place and was outstanding, scoring 15 points and pulling down a career-best 19 rebounds.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was that Massachusetts also played tremendous offense, especially in the first half. The Minutemen scored on eight of nine possessions during their 19-2 run which turned a 16-14 deficit into a 33-18 lead. They received contributions up and down their lineup as they worked well both inside and outside.
| Video clip: Monty Mack gets the hoop and the foul.501k AVI Courtesey: ESPN |
``I just told my players that the reason we won tonight was because of Mike Babul, Ajmal, Jonathon and Chris Kirland,'' UMass coach Bruiser Flint said. ``They came through for us.''
North Attleboro's Babul, whom Flint is touting as the best defensive player in the A-10, guarded Mobley much of the way, even though Babul is a forward and Mobley a guard. Mobley had 12 points but was just 2 for 7 from the field. Kirland also came off the bench because of the foul problems to Ketner and Weeks, and contributed five points and four rebounds while playing the power forward rather than his usual small forward spot.
It all added up to another chapter of frustration for URI against Massachusetts. The URI side insisted that its long history of frutration -- it has not beaten UMass since 1993 -- had nothing to do with it.
``We don't go into a game thinking they've beat us so many times in a row. That wouldn't do us any good,'' said Joshua King, who was one of three Rhody players in double figures, with 11.
Massachusetts, though, likes its position.
``They're always talking about breaking the jinx,'' Weeks said. ``We always go into a game against them thinking they can beat us, but the end result is that we always beat them . . . I still think they're a good team.''
The last four games between the teams had been decided, in order, by 6, 5, 4 and 3 points. There was no such tension last night.
URI had three 3-pointers early on, two by King, the second to give the Rams a 16-14 edge seven minutes in. That's when the UMass offense took control.
DePina hit a 15-footer and Basit had a rebound bucket. DePina scored off the drive, Clark on a foul line jumper, Basit on a tip-in then Kirkland on a 15-footer to make it 26-16.
After URI called a time-out to regroup, Mobley broke the run with a driving hoop. But Mack drove and scored, was fouled and made the free throw. Then Babul snuck behind the Rhody defense, took an alley-oop pass from Charlton Clarke and dunked it home. A baseline jumper by Weeks made it 33-16 with 6:20 left in the half and the Rams never again got within 11 points.
URI tried everything defensively in that stretch, abandoning its man-to-man for a zone defense. Later, the Rams tried pressing. Nothing worked.
The Rams missed some good scoring chances and were only 4 for 10 from the foul line in the first half, which ended with Massachusetts on top, 43-29.
``When you miss layups and foul shots it's kind of like putting a needle in a balloon. It just deflates you,'' Harrick said.
``We just didn't have the energy tonight,'' King added.
UMass struggled offensively at the start of the second half, but never lost control because it kept URI in check. The Rams had only two field goals in the first 13:50 of the second half and never made a run.
ROVIDENCE -- There were 54 seconds remaining.
The score was 73-53 and the crowd was on its feet cheering in appreciation.
The only problem?
It was the wrong crowd; the UMass fans at the north end of the Civic Center.
Much of the large crowd already had left, filing out as silently as callers at a wake. The URI bench was a bas-relief of disappointent. It had been the night that could have been, a chance for the Rams to make the dramatic statement. But now the only thing remaining was the sound of crushed hopes.
For this has been a dream season for URI. A spot in the Top 25. The start of the Jim Harrick Era and the promise of the big time. An exciting team that gave powerful Stanford fits on the road, played well last Sunday at Cincinnati, showcased on national television no less. A team that appeared destined to be one of the best in the school's history.
 Lari Ketner gets the outlet pass down-court to Monty Mack. |
As forcefully as an elbow in the face.
Last night the Rams' flaws were there for everyone to see.
For UMass didn't just beat the Rams last night. They outrebounded them by almost 2-to-1. They outscrapped them. They outtoughed them. They manhandled them. They defined the way the game was played. In short, they kicked their tail. In the first defining game of the season, a game that was a measuring stick to determine whether this is just a good little Ram team or one that could be truly special, they fell apart like some old baseball that's been left out in the rain.
How bad was it?
Consider this?
With 16:04 left in the game UMass took a 49-30 lead, the suspense as gone as New Year's Eve. After that it was just a question of how much, virtually an entire second half of garbage time. If it had been boxing Jim Harrick would have thrown a towel on the court and everyone could have gone home and watched Seinfeld at 9 o'clock.
The Rams' inside game has been the question mark hovering over this team since the season began. Last night it was nonexistent. UMass ruled the paint like some feudal king. Even with Lari Kettner and Tyrone Weeks in foul trouble, UMass was too strong for the Rams underneath. Where have you gone Michael Andersen, Ram fans turn their lonely eyes to you?
Not that their lack of inside presence was the only sin.
This is a Ram team that's been carried by Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley, has lived off perimeter shooting. When they're both playing well it camouflages the Rams' weaknesses, basketball makeup for the blemishes, enables the Rams to play with anyone. Even when one is having a big game the Rams are a different team.
Last night they were both rendered ineffective by a UMass defense that turned the Rams' offense into guns with no bullets. In the first half, they combined for eight points and only had eight shots between them.
Is it any wonder the Rams only had 29 points and already were down 14?
Wheeler eventually finished with 3-for-10 shooting and Mobley ended up getting seven shots. And without either of them having a big night the URI offense is a mirage.
Any wonder why this game isn't going to make anypostseason highlight films?
The other thing to remember is that UMass is the Rams' worst nightmare, a tough, physical team that controls tempo and forces teams into a halfcourt, grind-it-out game, a basketball version of a street fight. A blue-collar team that brings its lunch pail with it and then wants to hit you over the head with it. The Rams' alter ego. It's not just coincidence that UMass had beaten the Rams nine straight going into last night. It is style of play and the ability of UMass to turn games into dogfights.
But the unfortunate thing, the sad legacy of the evening?
This was the chance for the big statement from this Ram team, the kind of message that goes out to the basketball world like some neon sign in the middle of the desert. Complete with national television no less. For the Rams have yet to have that kind of game. Yes, it was a great win at Temple, but in the three chances the Rams have had against Top 25 teams, they fought the good fight, but eventually got carried off on their shields.
Last night was supposed to make up for it, a big win over a tough UMass team that had won eight straight. Last night was supposed to be the kind of game that took this team to another level, a big win in front of a big crowd, a signature game for a program with big aspirations. A big win that was going to make everyone float out of the Civic Center on a wave of good feeling, visions of postseason dreams dancing in their heads.
Instead, the Rams seemed to crumble under the pressure. In what arguably was their biggest game of the season so far, they had their worst game.
For it's one thing to lose. It's another to get completely outplayed in your own building, to be out of the game with 16 minutes to play, to be so manhandled by a team that's younger than you. It's another to see the UMass fans celebrating while your fans silently file out of the Civic Center, the only noise the sound of crushed hopes lying on the ground like confetti after some long-gone parade.
ROVIDENCE-- Streak on. Hex remains.
The University of Massachusetts won its ninth straight game and continued its domination of the University of Rhode Island last night with an impressive and surprisingly easy, 74-57, victory over the Rams before a crowd of 12,412 at the Providence Civic Center.
Ajmal Basit, the 6-foot-9 UMass sophomore, came off the bench to spell foul-plagued Lari Ketner and Tyrone Weeks and scored 15 points and hauled down a career-high 19 rebounds. UMass improved to 15-5 and remained the only unbeaten team in Atlantic-10 play at 7-0.
The win was UMass' 10th in a row over Rhode Island and its 18th victory in the last 19 meetings, the lone loss coming in a 71-68 Rams victory on Feb. 20, 1993 at the Providence Civic Center.
Weeks and Ketner each had three fouls in the first half and scored just eight and four points, respectively. They played only 15 and 14 minutes and fouled out in the second half.
However, Basit more than made up for the big guys with what was perhaps the best game of his career.
"That's the way Ajmal plays against Lari in practice," said UMass coach Bruiser Flint. "He was just terrific tonight. There were times he got pretty tired out there, but he hung in there."
"I had never played 34 minutes before," said Basit. "I was really exhausted at the end of the first half. I had a bit of stomach ache before the game and I was a little uneasy."
By the time Basit got really tired at halftime, UMass had built a commanding 43-29 lead against the Rams, who came into the game ranked No. 21 in the country.
However, URI, now 13-5 overall, has lost three of its last four and is 5-2 in the A-10, two games behind the Minutemen.
This one was strictly no contest as UMass got contributions from all corners.
Guard Monty Mack tied a career-high with 22 points, and guard Jonathan DePina came off the bench to cash 10 points and hand out five assists.
 Chris Kirkland also played well in Weeks and Ketner's abscence. |
The backcourt trio of Mack, DePina and Charlton Clarke handed out 11 assists without any turnovers for the Minutemen.
Anton Reynolds-Dean and Cuttino Mobley led URI with 12 points apiece, while Joshua King added 11. But the Rams were never really in this one. Their last lead was at 16-14, and UMass then went on a 12-0 run to take control.
"UMass is a very fine basketball team, big and strong," said URI coach Jim Harrick. "They shot the ball exceptionally well especially in the first half (19 for 32). They played an excellent game, and 99 percent of the things that happened out there on the court were because of them, one per cent us.
"Sometimes it's hard to play two emotional games back-to-back," added Harrick, referring to the tough 88-82 loss to Cincinnati last Sunday.
"We just didn't seem to have any energy tonight," offered King. UMass will try to keep its streak going Sunday afternoon when it hosts Dayton at 2 p.m. at the Mullins Center in Amherst. The Minutemen play Temple at home on Tuesday.
As for the hex over URI, UMass will go gunning for its 11th straight win over the Rams on Feb. 18 when they come calling at the Mullins Center.
ROVIDENCE, R.I. -
When the whistle blew with 7:51
remaining in Thursday's game, some
Rhode Island fans headed for the exit.
Others jeered the officials, while most
just sat, quietly stunned that No. 21
Rhode Island was trailing the
University of Massachusetts 57-40.
When the next officials' timeout was whistled with 3:47 to go, Rhody fans flooded the exits, not bothering to wait for the end of the Minutemen's 74-57 slaughter of their conference rival. As they left, UMass fans showered them with chants of "overrated."
The Minutemen (15-5, 7-0) picked up their ninth straight win in a foul-fest at the Providence Civic Center as the two teams combined for 45 fouls.
 Bruiser pleads his case with the ref. |
UMass now has won 10 straight against the Rams and 18 of the last 19.
"We just went out with our game plan and that was the way it ended up. I still think they're a good team," said UMass captain Tyrone Weeks, who acknowledged he thinks UMass has a psychological edge over the Rams. "They came in to get the jinx off their backs. We always come in thinking that they can beat us, but in the end, we always win."
The Minutemen dominated every area of the game, including those where URI supposedly was better. A lot of the pregame hype centered on UMass' superior frontcourt and Rhode Island's better guards, but from tipoff to the final buzzer, UMass ruled.
Despite getting just 15 minutes from Weeks and 14 from Lari Ketner, the Minutemen still controlled inside play, thanks largely to a career-night by Ajmal Basit, who scored 15 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.
With Weeks and Ketner seeing limited action due to early foul trouble, Chris Kirkland logged considerable minutes at the power forward spot. Still, the Minutemen held a 45-34 rebounding advantage and outscored URI 38-26 in the paint.
 Monty Mack was everything the URI guards weren't. |
Jonathan DePina scored in double digits for only the third time in his short career with 10. The trio of Mack, DePina and Charlton Clarke didn't turn the ball over once, while shutting down their Rhody counterparts. UMass even dominated the fast break, a specialty of the Rams, outscoring them, 13-6.
"They just flat-out beat us," said URI coach Jim Harrick, whose Rams fell to 15-5 and 5-2 in the A-10. "They tore our head off, which is our guard play, and if you tear the head off, the body dies."
The game was close early as URI led 16-14 seven minutes into the game. But UMass ran off a 19-2 run that included baskets by seven players to take a 33-18 lead, and never looked back. UMass' lead never dipped below double-digits the rest of the game.
The Minutemen's offense sputtered early in the second half but their defense made up for it until their shots began falling again. UMass extended its lead to 21 points before Maureico Gay scored a few points in garbage time to cut the lead to its final margin.
"UMass is a very fine basketball team," Harrick said. "Everything that happened on the floor is because they made it happen. They played very, very well."
The Minutemen next play Dayton at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Mullins Center. The Flyers established themselves as giant killers early with wins over Xavier and Temple at home.
ROVIDENCE, R.I. -
Rhode Island coach Jim Harrick
couldn't have had a better scenario if
he had scripted it himself.
Just 6:15 into the game both Lari Ketner and Tyrone Weeks already had two fouls, and before the first half was over they each had collected number 3.
Instead of dominating inside as he feared, the sizable duo would take turns on the University of Massachusetts bench, while the Rams could set the game's style and tempo to their liking.
Harrick didn't count on Ajmal Basit. In fact, he even admitted in the post-game press conference that he barely knew who Basit was before the game.
 Ajmal Basit was all that in his career performance against URI. |
"He played very well," said Harrick. "I'd have thought we would have had a better chance with Weeks and Ketner out."
UMass coach Bruiser Flint agreed. "He did a great job," Flint said. "He can play like that. The way he played tonight is the way he plays in practice against Lari. He can be a special player."
A year ago, Basit's game was sometimes more show than substance. Every play was a stage. A made basket produced a collection of fist pumping and howling, while a foul would prompt complaints to the officials. While fans loved Basit's exuberance, it at times drove Flint a little crazy.
Basit's emergence this season almost didn't happen. After a disappointing season a year ago, he thought about transferring to Seton Hall for a chance to play closer to his New Jersey roots for new coach Tommy Amaker.
Unhappy with Basit's focus, Flint wasn't about to block the door if the 6-9 big man decided to leave. "I was ready to drive him home," Flint said. "I told him that Tommy Amaker would be a great coach for him."
In the end, Basit decided to stay and refocused himself on basketball. His enthusiasm is still present but he channels it better into positive on-court results.
"Ajmal has become a great player," Weeks said. "Next year he's going to be an even better player. He's growing up and I like that. That's one thing that's making his game better. He doesn't get mad like he used to. He stays focused because he wants to play. He's working hard every day in practice and in games."
"He stuck with it," Flint said. "And he's been great."
Basit is proud of his own progress. "I probably wouldn't have been that successful last year," he admitted. "This year I learned that things aren't always going to go your way. If I missed a shot or missed a rebound, I don't know if I would have rebounded from that emotionally. Now I realize that you have to take the good with the bad. If something negative happens, you have to turn it into a positive."
Having Ketner and Weeks forced to the bench can certainly be considered negative, but Basit's play made it a positive. In addition to vacuuming up any rebound that came near him, Basit put some low post maneuvers on display as well. His repertoire of head fakes, drop steps and double pumps exposed the Rhode Island front court's grave deficiencies.
 Basit and Mike Babul had reason to smile after destroying the Rams. |
"Coach expects everybody to come off the bench and produce. He has confidence in everybody on the team. I hope he wasn't surprised that I played well today."
One viewer of the game wasn't surprised at his performance, despite the fact that he had a stomachache prior to game time. "Before the game, my mother told me that she had a dream last night that I was going to have a great game," Basit said.
She was right, and now Rhode Island is having nightmares.
| Massachusetts Minutemen | 74 |
| Rhode Island Rams (#21) | 57 |
| at the Providence Civic Center | |
MASSACHUSETTS (74)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Weeks 15 4-5 0-0 1-6 0 5 8
Babul 25 2-4 0-0 0-3 0 1 4
Ketner 14 2-3 0-0 0-2 1 5 4
Clarke 33 3-8 0-2 2-3 5 2 6
Mack 32 8-15 4-6 1-2 1 3 22
Depina 23 2-4 6-8 1-2 5 4 10
Burns 1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Cruz 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Maclay 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Kirkland 21 2-7 1-3 0-4 0 0 5
Basit 34 7-13 1-2 7-19 0 4 15
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 30-60 12-21 12-42 12 24 74
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
2-7, .286 (Clarke 0-4, Mack 2-3). Team rebounds:
3. Blocked shots: 3 (Basit 2, Weeks). Turnovers:
10 (Basit 3, Ketner 3, Weeks 2, Babul, Cruz).
Steals: 8 (Babul 2, Clarke 2, Basit, Depina,
Kirkland, Mack).
RHODE ISLAND (57)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
King 30 2-8 5-7 2-5 0 3 11
Reynolds-dean 20 4-11 4-8 5-8 0 5 12
Clay 33 3-10 0-3 1-10 1 2 6
Mobley 36 2-7 7-8 0-2 1 4 12
Wheeler 37 3-10 1-3 0-2 5 2 8
Jefferson 6 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
Arigbabu 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Gay 1 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 4
Murphy 25 0-4 0-0 1-1 2 4 0
Bennett 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 18-57 17-29 9-30 9 21 57
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.316, FT-.586. 3-Point Goals:
4-13, .308 (King 2-6, Mobley 1-2, Wheeler 1-5).
Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 1 (Mobley).
Turnovers: 9 (Wheeler 4, Mobley 3, King, Murphy).
Steals: 3 (King 2, Wheeler).
__________________________________
Massachusetts 43 31 - 74
Rhode Island 29 28 - 57
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 12,412. Officials: Tim
Higgins, John Cahill, Jody Sylvester.
