• Season: 2012-13
• Date: Sunday, November 18, 2012
• Opponent: Tennessee
• Start Time: 4:00 PM ET
• Site: Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón PR
• Special Event: Puerto Rico Tip-Off
• Television: ESPNU
• Streaming video: ESPN3
• Radio / Streaming audio: UMass Radio Network

• Result: Tennessee 83, UMass 69
• Attendance: n/a

UMass Falls To Tennessee, 83-69, in Puerto Rico Tip-Off Third-Place Game
Jesse Morgan leads UMass in scoring for fourth-consecutive game
From UMass Athletics, 11/18/2012

BAYAMON, P.R. - Tennessee scored 14 unanswered points to pull away from Massachusetts for a 83-69 win in the third-place game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez Sunday.

UMass had just erased a five-point deficit and tied the game at 54 with 8:28 to play when the Vols went on their run. The Minutemen trimmed the margin to seven with just over three minutes left but weren't able to get any closer.

UMass (2-2) shot just 35 percent and was outrebounded 51-37.

Jesse Morgan led the Minutemen with 18 points and a game-high four 3-pointers. Chaz Williams inched closer to 1,000 career points with 16, to go along with eight assists. He needs just nine points to become the 42nd player in school history to accomplish the feat. Both players had three steals apiece.

Jarnell Stokes finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for Tennessee (3-1). The Vols shot 45 percent and controlled the paint at both ends of the floor. They outscored UMass 40-28 in the paint and converted 17 offensive boards into 20 second-chance opportunities.

UMass scored the game's first four points before the lead changed hands five times and was tied twice in the opening period. UT led 38-34 at the intermission.

Trey Davis saw considerable time at the point guard spot when Williams picked up his fourth foul with just under 15 minutes left. The freshman played turnover-free ball in 10 minutes while collecting a key steal during the Minutemen's late run.

UMass will play its next game in nine days when it faces Siena for the second-consecutive season. Tipoff at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. is set for 7:00 p.m.

UMass hoop falls to late knockout by Tennessee
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 11/18/2012

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — When Jesse Morgan’s 3-pointer went down with less than 10 minutes to play Sunday, everyone on the University of Massachusetts bench jumped to their feet simultaneously, arms pumping.

In the Minutemen’s two wins this season, they have trailed in the second half before rallying and Morgan’s basket gave them their first lead against Tennessee since the opening minutes.

But the celebration did not last long. After each team made a pair of free throws, the Volunteers scored 14 straight points to seize back momentum. UMass never recovered and fell 83-69 to finish fourth in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.

“We didn’t play great offensively and to be up two at that point, I was pretty excited,” Minuteman coach Derek Kellogg said. “But they took the game over right there.”

During Tennessee’s game-clinching surge, UMass could not contain power forward Jarnell Stokes. The sophomore scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including five during the run. He added 12 rebounds to pace the Vols’ 51-37 advantage on the glass.

“We wanted to get the ball inside,” Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said. “It was a concerted effort for Jarnell to get assertive and aggressive. He’s a nimble big man. He knows how to make plays, how to make moves.”

The Minutemen tried several players against Stokes, but nobody could answer his combination of size and athleticism. Stokes missed free throws early but made seven of 10 in the second half, adding to his dominance.

“Stokes gave them an inside presence we struggled to handle on both ends,” Kellogg said. “He’s one of the better big men in the country, because of his size, his athleticism and strength. At times we did a good job on him. At other times he knocked us out of the way.”

UMass cut its deficit back to seven points after another 3-pointer by Morgan (18 points) capped an 8-1 spurt that made the score 69-62 with 3 minutes, 17 seconds left, but the Minutemen made just two field goals the rest of the way as the Volunteers (3-1) pulled away.

UMass (2-2) will get 10 days off before it travels to Albany, N.Y., to play Siena at 7 p.m. Nov. 28.

“They do need a little bit of rest to make sure we’re ready to go,” Kellogg said. “We’re not in that kind of shape where we’re flying up and down the floor playing with reckless abandon. Sometimes when you play three games in four days, with another on Tuesday morning, we weren’t as sharp as we could be. They deserve a little break, but at the same token they need to know that was really unacceptable.”

The Minutemen hung in despite missing all-conference point guard Chaz Williams (16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four turnovers) for an almost eight-minute stretch.

With the Minutemen trailing 45-42, the 5-foot-9 point guard tried to dunk but was blocked by Jordan McRae. Attempting to atone for it, Williams sprinted back and picked up his fourth foul trying to steal the ball from Armani Moore.

“I tripped over his foot which caused me to run into him,” Williams said. “I was trying to get the ball back because I just got blocked.”

UMass not only survived his absence, but initially rallied. Freshman point guard Trey Davis did not score, but ran the offense effectively and helped the Minutemen pull ahead before Tennessee’s knockout blow.

UMass shot just 27 percent from the floor in the second half (10-for-37) and missed 16 layups.

“I’m not real happy with the outcome today,” Kellogg said. “I thought we did it to ourselves. Tennessee played well, but we did some things offensively that wasn’t very good to watch.”

Senior forward Terrell Vinson said he is convinced the Minutemen will improve.

“The next 10 days we’re going to get better. We’re going to watch a lot of film and straighten a lot of things out,” Vinson said. “We’re going to do the things we need to do to win. We’re a team that gets better as the year goes. With our style of play, guys have to get used to running. . . . We’ll be all right.”

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.

Trey Davis fills in effectively at point guard for Minutemen
By Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 11/18/2012

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — With Chaz Williams on the bench in foul trouble early in the second half Sunday, University of Massachusetts men’s basketball coach Derek Kellogg had a choice to make with his team down by three with just under 15 minutes left to play.

He could move Jesse Morgan, who is not a natural point guard but played there last year, or bring in freshman Trey Davis, who had just 25 minutes of collegiate action under his belt.

Kellogg opted for the rookie. Davis did not scored but he ran the offensive effectively and the Minutemen pulled ahead with him in the game.

“Trey was great. I thought we made a nice run with him in there. He’s somebody I think we can rely on at times as a backup to Chaz,” Kellogg said. “I thought we should have left him in longer with the amount of minutes Chaz had to play.

“I thought he did some good things and looked fresh,” Kellogg added. “. . . He’s fearless. He looks like a basketball player out there. I was happy for him.”

Davis said he never doubted he was capable of contributing.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence,” he said. “I had a lot of confidence coming into the season. I still have the same confidence. I’m just doing what I’m capable of doing. I’m playing and I know I can play. It made me feel good, but that’s normal to me.

“When I got in the game, I knew I could just make something happen,” Davis added. “It felt good when I did it. I feel like it made my teammates happy, and I know I can do that.”

Williams, who has taken Davis under his wing, praised his protege.

“I’m real proud of Trey how he stepped up. He gave us good minutes off the bench,” Williams said. “That’s the type of Trey you’re going to see for the next couple of games. He’s a pretty good player. We expect good things from him. It was good to see.”

FREE-THROW WOES — UMass has sent opponents to the line 114 times, compared to just 63 trips by the Minutemen. Kellogg planned to spend part of the next 10 days determining what’s led to their being prone to fouling.

“I have to figure out why we’re fouling so much,” Kellogg said. “I want to make sure where those calls are, to make sure we rectify. We can’t win if they’re in the one-and-one with 15 minutes left in the first half or 12 minutes in the second half. That’s impossible.”

ALLEY OOP FOLLOWED BY ALLEY OOP-OOPS — Raphiael Putney won the opening tip back to Williams and then raced for the goal. Williams lobbed the ball toward the rim where Putney caught and dunked it all in one motion.

Jesse Morgan stole Trae Golden’s inbound pass and lofted another ball toward Putney. But it hit the rim, bounced up and then in.

Putney had another alley-oop from Williams to start the second half.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.

Tennessee takes down UMass 83-69 in Puerto Rico Tipoff Third-Place Game
Freshman Trey Davis a bright spot for UMass in loss to Tennessee

UMass men’s basketball falls short against Tennessee

UT men's basketball finds its firepower against Massachusetts, 83-69
Lineup experimentation pays off for UT coach Cuonzo Martin against Massachusetts

Video: Post-game press conference
Photo gallery (Tennessee)

Official Basketball Box Score
Tennessee vs UMass
11/18/12 5:00 PM AST at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez (Bayamon, PR)


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VISITORS: Tennessee 3-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 Stokes,Jarnell...... f  7-12   0-0   10-17   5  7 12   0  24  1  2  0  1  32
20 Hall,Kenny.......... f  1-2    0-0    1-2    2  3  5   4   3  0  2  0  1  16
01 Richardson,Josh..... g  5-10   0-2    1-3    2  7  9   3  11  2  3  0  2  27
11 Golden,Trae......... g  3-10   2-3    3-4    0  1  1   3  11  6  1  0  0  29
13 McBee,Skylar........ g  3-5    3-5    2-2    2  1  3   2  11  1  2  0  0  24
00 Makanjuola,Yemi.....    2-5    0-0    1-2    1  3  4   2   5  1  0  1  0   7
04 Moore,Armani........    1-5    0-1    0-0    0  2  2   0   2  1  2  1  1  11
31 Chievous,Quinton....    2-4    0-1    0-0    0  4  4   1   4  0  1  0  1  23
52 McRae,Jordan........    4-9    2-4    2-3    0  3  3   1  12  3  3  1  0  31
   TEAM................                         5  3  8
   Totals..............   28-62   7-16  20-33  17 34 51  16  83 15 16  3  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-31 45.2%   2nd Half: 14-31 45.2%   Game: 45.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 43.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-12 50.0%   2nd Half: 14-21 66.7%   Game: 60.6%    6


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HOME TEAM: UMass 2-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 VINSON, Terrell..... f  3-9    1-2    3-4    2  3  5   4  10  0  3  0  0  22
34 PUTNEY, Raphiael.... f  3-7    0-3    0-0    0  7  7   5   6  3  0  1  0  26
25 LALANNE, Cady....... c  2-5    1-4    0-0    1  1  2   2   5  0  1  1  0  21
03 WILLIAMS, Chaz...... g  5-15   1-3    5-6    4  4  8   4  16  8  4  0  3  31
05 MORGAN, Jesse....... g  6-15   4-10   2-2    0  3  3   4  18  1  3  1  3  31
01 ESHO, Maxie.........    1-4    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   4   2  0  0  0  1  19
11 BERGANTINO, Tyler...    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   2   2  0  1  0  0   2
12 DAVIS, Trey.........    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  0  0  1  10
22 CARTER, Sampson.....    2-4    1-1    2-2    1  2  3   3   7  0  1  1  0  22
23 RILEY, Freddie......    1-5    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  1  1  0  1  16
55 FREEMAN, Izzy.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   24-69   9-27  12-14  13 24 37  29  69 13 14  4  9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-32 43.8%   2nd Half: 10-37 27.0%   Game: 34.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-13 30.8%   2nd Half:  5-14 35.7%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-3  66.7%   2nd Half: 10-11 90.9%   Game: 85.7%    0


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Officials: John Hughes, Rod Dixon, Bret Smith
Technical fouls: Tennessee-None. UMass-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Tennessee.....................   38   45  -   83
UMass.........................   34   35  -   69

Available at UMassAthletics.com