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MHERST - When UMass struggled to a 1-5 record to open the season, second-year point guard Anthony Anderson shouldered much of the blame. The reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year averaged just 5.8 points per game in the five losses.
Now, as the Minutemen are picking up steam with three straight wins, Anderson deserves much of the credit. The Lynn native matched a career high with 25 points, including 22 in the second half, in UMass' 70-55 win over Duquesne yesterday at the Mullins Center.
Anderson helped the Minutemen (11-14, 5-7 A-10) rally from an 11-point first-half deficit by going 9-for-9 from the field in the second half, including 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. UMass outscored the Dukes 45-27 in the second half.
``(The hoop was) as big as it could be. Everything was going in for me,'' said Anderson, who has posted double-digit scoring performances in eight of UMass' last nine games. The Minutemen have won five of those games.
Anderson, who has been taking the ball inside more often, added eight assists against the Dukes (9-17, 3-10).
``(I've been) looking to drive more,'' Anderson said. ``(I do) more driving to kick it out than to shoot it. But when it's there, I have to take it.''
The win stretched UMass' winning streak to three, matching its season high.
Early in the second half, UMass extended a 36-32 lead to a 13-point advantage with a 13-4 run over four minutes of play. Anderson scored 12 points in the streak.
Duquesne couldn't get within eight points in the final 10:19, as UMass connected on three more from behind the arc, en route to a 10-for-19 performance on the day.
``When you shoot the ball well from the outside, that's when our motion offense (works),'' said UMass coach Steve Lappas.
A 3-pointer from Jeff Viggiano with 17:50 remaining in the second half gave UMass its first lead since 3-2 with 18:45 left in the first. Behind Anderson's performance, the Minutemen never trailed again.
Duquesne controlled the first half, pulling out to a 16-5 lead in the first nine minutes. UMass responded with a 15-4 run to close the gap to 22-20 with 3:24 before halftime.
Sophomore center Gabe Lee grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and matched his high with five blocks.
The Minutemen used their eighth different starting lineup against Duquesne. Freshman guard Mike Lasme, who has started 14 games this season, sat out with an elbow injury. Lappas said the Ivory Coast native might be able to play at Temple on Wednesday.
Lappas announced yesterday that Raheim Lamb of Boston has left the program indefinitely due to personal reasons. Lappas was not sure when the junior forward might return.
Lamb was averaging 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
MHERST - Say this about the 2002-03 Massachusetts Minutemen: They are a resilient bunch.
 Marcus Cox tries to get crafty on Simplice Njoya. |
Because of all that, UMass scored just 3 points over the first seven minutes, trailed by 11 with 10:34 left in the first half, and was outrebounded in the first half, 20-10. But the Minutemen surged late in the half, cutting the deficit to 3 points on a trey by point guard Anthony Anderson, who had missed his first three shots.
Then the junior from Lynn made the second half a virtual shooting clinic.
Anderson had 22 second-half points on 9-for-9 shooting (4 for 4 from 3-point range) and added five second-half assists to lead the Minutemen, who outscored Duquesne, 20-6, over the first 7:37 of the second half. That put UMass ahead, 47-34, with 12:23 remaining, and Duquesne never came closer than 8 points.
A game that began miserably turned out to produce the Minutemen's largest margin of victory since they defeated Columbia, 66-47, Jan. 9. It also marked the second three-game winning streak of the season for UMass (11-14, 5-7), which is now a game behind fourth-place St. Bonaventure in the A-10 East Division -- a key position since the fourth-place team hosts the fifth in the first round of the conference tournament.
Rogers added 18 points and seven rebounds, freshman Jeff Viggiano had 14 points, and sophomore Gabe Lee had 10 boards (seven in the second half) and five blocks. Kevin Forney had 14 points to lead Duquesne.
''It was a great win for us, considering we were a little undermanned,'' said Lappas, whose team matched its season high in field goal percentage (58 percent), posted a season high in treys (10), and outrebounded Duquesne, 16-10, in the second half. ''We were getting absolutely destroyed on the glass. I told them, `Let's just get outrebounded by five in the second half and we win the game,' and we ended up outrebounding them by six.''
''It felt as if anything I put up was going in, so I kept shooting,'' said Anderson, whose 25 points tied a career high and who tied a school record for consecutive field goals in a game. Horace Neysmith went 10 for 10 vs. St. Bonaventure Feb. 9, 1984.
''Jackie was doing his thing, so I felt like I needed to step up,'' said Anderson.
Lappas said Rogers sat out at the start because he was two minutes late for a pregame meeting. He said Lasme was hurt in a collision with forward Stephen Briggs, who is sitting out this season after returning from a suspension.
Lappas said he does not know when Lamb will return.
''It's temporary only because there has been no resolution'' to the situation, said Lappas, who declined to elaborate. ''I can't tell you how it's going to be resolved. It came from him. He has some things going on back home.''
It marks the second time this season a player has left the team for personal reasons. Guard Kyle Wilson of White Rock, British Columbia, transferred to San Jose State to be closer to home.
The game was quite physical, had a lot of taunting, and ended with three players receiving technical fouls. Ron Dokes for Duquesne and Rogers were hit with double technicals, and UMass guard Marcus Cox picked one up for taunting with 1:07 left.
MHERST, Mass. � Right from the start Sunday, a third consecutive victory seemed imminent for the Duquesne University basketball team.
 Gabe Lee had a tough shooting day, but led all in rebounds with 10. |
Anderson stepped up his play in the second half, scoring 22 of his game-high 25 points, and Massachusetts, instead, won its third game in a row, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a 70-55 Atlantic 10 Conference rout of Duquesne before 3,828 at Mullins Center.
It was the second consecutive game in which Massachusetts (11-14, 5-7) had overcome a double-digit deficit in the first half.
Duquesne (9-17, 3-10) led by as many 11 points with 8:05 left in the first half, finishing the half with a 20-10 edge in rebounding and holding Massachusetts to single digits until Minuteman forward Jackie Rogers dunked with 7:00 to go before intermission to cut the Duquesne lead to 18-11.
�We were playing well in the first half, moving the ball, until they put those defenses on us. Then, everything started going wrong,� said Duquesne guard Kevin Forney, one of just two Dukes in double figures with a team-leading 14 points.
Massachusetts coach Steve Lappas opted to use �junk defenses� against Forney and Jimmy Tricco, who are Duquesne�s chief 3-point shooting threats.
It worked.
A box-and-one on Forney and a triangle-and two on Forney and Tricco at different times confounded the Dukes� offense as time passed.
�We�ve been experimenting with those defenses,� Lappas said. �We did a good job of keeping their 3-point shooters � Tricco and Forney � at bay.�
Tricco, who is third in the Atlantic 10 in 3-point percentage (44.3), did not attempt a 3-pointer. For the season, he is 66 for 149. Forney was 1 for 4 from behind the line, but came in shooting 46.6 on a limited number of attempts (27 for 58).
Anderson, a 5-foot-11 junior point guard, tied his career high in scoring, hitting 10 of 13 shots overall and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He also led the game with eight assists.
The Minutemen were 10 for 19 shooting from behind the arc � 7 for 11 in the momentum-swinging second-half � with freshman forward Jeff Viggiano connecting on 4 of 7. Overall, Massachusetts shot a season-best 57.8 percent (26 for 45).
�Anderson created a lot of shots for them,� Duquesne coach Danny Nee said. �We couldn�t guard him one-on-one. He broke (our defense) down, and when we would have someone go to help out on him, Viggiano was left open.�
Said Anderson: �It just seemed like everything I put up was going in.�
After falling behind, Massachusetts rallied to close withing 28-25 on a 3-point shot by Anderson with 1:03 left. The Minutemen came out in the second half and raced to a lead it would never relinquish just three minutes into the half.
�We should have had a bigger halftime lead,� Nee said.
Massachusetts managed the victory despite playing without starting guard Michael Lasme, a freshman who sat out with an elbow injury, and reserve forward Raheim Lamb, who left the team for personal reasons. Rogers, a 6-8 senior who was coming off a career-high 26-point effort in an 82-76 victory at St. Bonaventure, did not start because he was late for the team�s pregame warm-ups, but finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
Behind Anderson�s hot hand, Massachusetts built a double-digit lead (44-34) with 13:23 to play on a jumper by none other than � Anderson.
�If you let us alone, we�re dangerous,� Lappas said. �We haven�t been dangerous all year.�
The lead ballooned to 19 on a dunk by Rogers with 1:17 left.
�I wish our perimeter defense was better than it was,� Nee said. �UMass� shooting percentage is way, way, way higher at home than on the road. But the last two or three games, they have really shot the ball really well. They�re breaking out of it. Their offense is in a nice rhythm right now.�
Notes: Viggiano (14) also scored in double figures for Massachusetts. Simplice Njoya (12) joined Forney for Duquesne. � Tricco, a psychology major with a 3.85 grade-point average, has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 Men�s Basketball Team. He is the first Duquesne player to earn all-district academic honors since Bill Zopf did it twice in 1969 and 1970. � Duquesne returns home to face No. 14 Xavier on Wednesday.
Dave Mackall can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 838-5144.
MHERST, Mass. -- It must have seemed like practice for Massachusetts guards Anthony Anderson and Jeff Viggiano. Time after time, they would catch the ball, square up to the basket and shoot their 3-pointers with no one around to defend them.
 Jeff Viggiano keeps Brad Midgley in check. |
The Minutemen got hot and buried the Dukes under an avalanche of 3-pointers in the second half of a 70-55 victory at the Mullins Center.
Massachusetts (11-14, 5-7 Atlantic 10 Conference) made a season-high 10 3-pointers and shot 52.6 percent from beyond the arc. That's almost twice as good as the Minutemen normally shoot from 3-point range.
That it came against the Dukes shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Dukes (9-17, 3-10) are last in the league defending the 3-point shot. Opponents are connecting at almost a 43-percent clip.
Anderson was 5 for 7 from 3-point range and scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, when the Minutemen erased a 28-25 halftime deficit.
Viggiano hit three of his four 3-pointers in the second half, when the Dukes' perimeter defense was especially shoddy.
"I don't know why it wasn't better, but it was poor," Dukes Coach Danny Nee said. "Anderson created a lot of those opportunities. We couldn't guard him one on one. He'd break us down and then pitch it out to Viggiano."
Massachusetts made four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half -- two from Anderson and two from Viggiano -- as part of a 16-4 run that turned the game in its favor.
"It was all penetration," Dukes senior guard Kevin Forney said. "We scouted them. They weren't a good 3-point shooting team. But once they got on a roll, they were hard to stop."
This is the same team that made 1 of 15 3-point attempts in a mid-January loss to Xavier and 2 for 18 in a November loss to Indiana.
But that was then. In the past three games, the Minutemen, winners of three in a row, are shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc.
"If you leave us alone, we're dangerous," Massachusetts Coach Steve Lappas said.
Lappas put the clamps on the Dukes' two most potent scorers by playing junk defenses on Forney and Jimmy Tricco. Forney led the Dukes with 14 points, but eight of those came in the final five-plus minutes when the game already was decided. The defense was so tight on Tricco that he failed to get off a 3-point attempt for the first time this season and scored just two points after making five 3-pointers and scoring 21 points in a victory against George Washington last week.
"They were putting in junk defenses to stop me and Jimmy, and stopped our momentum," Forney said. "They were doing a triangle-and-two and boxes-and-ones, and we weren't getting the type of ball movement we needed."
The strategy worked because the Dukes' secondary scorers didn't help out. The only other player in double figures was Simplice Njoya with 12.
The game started well for the Dukes. They led, 16-5, with 10:34 remaining in the first half as Massachusetts tried to figure out a way to play without starting guard Michael Lasme, who sat out with an elbow injury, and the late insertion of leading scorer Jackie Rogers, who did not start because he was late for pregame warm-ups.
After sitting out the first five minutes, Rogers scored 10 of his 18 points in the next 15 minutes to help the Minutemen get back into the game.
"We were missing too many shots," Nee said. "We probably should have been up by 10 at halftime."
NOTES -- The Dukes play No. 14 Xavier, which has won 11 in a row, at home Wednesday. ... The Dukes had 16 offensive rebounds, but only four of those came in the second half. They won the rebounding margin, 30-26. ... Massachusetts shot a season-high 57.8 percent from the field. ... Anderson's 25 points tied a career-high. ... Massachusetts overcame a 10-point deficit for the second consecutive game.
MHERST - With teammates Raheim Lamb and Mike Lasme both out of the lineup, junior point guard Anthony Anderson delivered enough for all three of them.
 Anthony Anderson sparked a big comeback for the shorthanded Minutemen. |
Lasme was out with an elbow injury and Lamb is temporarily gone for personal reasons, but Anderson's career-high-tying 25 points more than matched his own scoring average (10.9 points per game) and the combined output (11.0 ppg) of his missing teammates.
Anderson, who also had eight assists, only had three points at intermission when the Minutemen trailed 28-25. But in the second half, he couldn't miss. He made all nine shots he took, including four 3-pointers.
"The basket looked as big as it could be," Anderson said. "It felt like everything I was putting up was going in. So I kept shooting. It was time for somebody to step it up."
The win was the second-straight game where the Minutemen (11-14, 5-7 Atlantic 10) overcame a double-digit deficit. It inched them closer to fourth place in the league, behind St. Bonaventure, which fell to 6-6 after losing to Saint Joseph's on Saturday.
UMass and the Bonnies play again at the Mullins Center on March 5. This week the Minutemen will travel to Temple for a Wednesday game at 7 p.m.
"I thought it was a great team win for us, considering we were undermanned," UMass coach Steve Lappas said.
Jackie Rogers had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Minutemen, while Jeff Viggiano added 14. Kevin Forney led Duquesne with 14 and Simplice Njoya added 12.
This was the first time this season that Duquesne guard Jimmy Tricco didn't attempt a 3-pointer as he struggled against UMass' triangle-and-two defense, finishing with just two points. Lappas said the junk defenses are most effective for his team right now.
 Gabe Lee gets up for the block a bit early here, but he still got 5 for the day. |
Rogers didn't start because he was late to a team meeting earlier in the day. The Minutemen looked out of sync without him early. Even when he entered the game with 4 minutes and 55 seconds gone, UMass still struggled offensively as the Dukes opened leads of 16-5 and 18-7.
After Marcus Cox turned a loose ball into an easy basket, Rogers scored five-straight points. Elijah Palmer's lay-in stopped the run, but not the momentum as the Minutemen continued to chip away. A 3 by Anderson made it 28-25 at halftime.
A Rogers dunk and a free throw by Gabe Lee tied the game at 28-28, but Njoya's 3-point play put Duquesne back ahead. Viggiano hit a 3-pointer to tie it and after a Palmer free throw, he hit another to put the Minutemen ahead 34-32.
Anderson took over from there as UMass never looked back.
The Minutemen, who'd been outrebounded 20-10 in the first half, won the board battle after halftime, 16-10, limiting Duquesne's chances to get back in the game.
Anderson said the Minutemen need to build on their three-game winning streak.
"We need to make it seven really," Anderson said. "Every team we play is on our side of the conference and is ahead of us. We know we still have a chance to make a noise in the A-10 Tournament. So we're working toward that."
Lappas saw long term value as well.
"To finish up strong is really important for us and for our young guys, to feel that coming in to next year," he said. "This is what we've got to do. That's important."
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
MHERST - Tardiness, personal problems and an injured elbow left University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Steve Lappas shorthanded, especially at the start of Sunday's win over Duquense.
 Steve Lappas had to work his troops a little harder with the short bench. |
Lasme, who has suffered ankle and wrist injuries earlier this season, missed the game with a tendon injury to his left elbow from a collision in practice with teammate Stephen Briggs.
Lasme watched the game from the bench in street clothes and according to Lappas is day-to-day.
"If he were a baseball pitcher, his career would be in jeopardy. But as a basketball player, it's not that big of a deal," said Lappas, who added that Lasme was possible for Wednesday's game at Temple. "He can't play right now, but he's day-to-day."
UMass released a statement prior to the game that Lamb had "temporarily left the team for personal reasons." Lappas declined to clarify much beyond that.
"It's temporary only because there has been no resolution," Lappas said. "I can't tell you how it's going to be resolved in the end. It's coming from him. He has some things going on back home. There is no time frame right now."
Lamb had switched to power forward earlier this season and had recently been UMass' first big man off the bench. He started the Minutemen's last game in place of injured Gabe Lee at St. Bonaventure. He was averaging 3.4 points per game.
Rogers' absence was brief. After arriving late for a pregame team meeting, freshman big man Alassane Kouyate replaced him in the starting lineup. Rogers' exile lasted less than five minutes. He returned at the first official timeout and finished with 18 points.
"At 12 p.m., everybody was suppose to be on the court. He came at 12:02," Lappas said.
The start was the first of Kouyate's career and meant that each of the team's 10 current scholarship players have started at least once. Kyle Wilson, who was on scholarship, did not start before transferring.
Sunday's starters marked the eighth different lineup UMass has used. No player has started all 25 games. Brennan Martin started for Lasme.
 Jeff Viggiano had another good game in front of a big hometown audience. |
They brought signs with his name and number on it and cheered wildly whenever he did anything.
"I'm real happy they all the came," Viggiano said. "It's great to see the support. I just wanted to play a good game for them. I don't know what I was doing in the first half. I was running around."
TECHNICALS - Rogers picked up his fourth technical foul of the season as part of a double-technical for jawing with Duquesne's Ron Dokes. Marcus Cox picked up a T later in the game, also for trash talking.
They were the eighth and ninth technicals of the season for the Minutemen. Rogers leads with four, followed by Lappas' two. Micah Brand, Marcus Cox and Lee all have one.
"I am mad. I saw the last one. Marcus Cox told the kid nice shot (after the Duquesne player missed)," Lappas said. "He didn't curse at him or say you stink. Is that taunting? Yes. They're getting very strict on decorum type things. It shouldn't happen. But if they called it like that when I was playing, they would have hit me all over the place because I had the biggest mouth there was. In those days nobody cared."
Lappas was concerned with Rogers and took responsibility for things getting out of hand.
"He's emotional. He loses his mind sometimes when people start talking to him. He's gotta know better than that," Lappas said. "We're not being targeted. We have guys that have big mouths. That's my responsibility. I'm disappointed in myself."
MISCELLANEOUS - Lee's 10 rebounds were a career high and his five blocks tied a career high.
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
| Duquesne Dukes | 55 |
| Massachusetts Minutemen | 70 |
| at the Mullins Center | |
Official Basketball Box Score
Duquesne vs Massachusetts
02/23/03 1:00 p.m. at Mullins Center (Amherst, MA)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Duquesne ( 9-17, 3-10)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 PALMER,Elijah....... f 3-8 0-1 1-4 2 5 7 1 7 1 3 0 2 27
14 NJOYA,Simplice...... f 4-9 0-1 4-6 1 1 2 2 12 0 3 0 1 29
41 DOKES,Ron........... c 3-5 0-0 0-0 4 0 4 3 6 1 2 0 1 28
22 MCALLISTER,Bryant... g 2-9 2-5 1-2 0 2 2 3 7 4 2 0 3 34
44 TRICCO,Jimmy........ g 1-3 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 28
20 FORNEY,Kevin........ 4-11 1-4 5-6 1 3 4 4 14 1 2 0 2 29
21 MIDGLEY,Brad........ 2-9 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 0 4 2 2 0 0 21
32 BLUEMLING,Tyler..... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 4
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 20-55 4-13 11-18 16 14 30 15 55 11 14 0 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 8-24 33.3% Game: 36.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 2-8 25.0% Game: 30.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 9-14 64.3% Game: 61.1% 2,2
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HOME TEAM: Massachusetts (11-14, 5- 7)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 KOUYATE,Alassane.... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6
22 VIGGIANO,Jeff....... f 4-7 4-7 2-2 0 3 3 2 14 1 4 1 0 31
04 LEE,Gabe............ c 0-5 0-0 1-2 2 8 10 2 1 1 3 5 1 33
00 MARTIN,Brennan...... g 1-5 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 4 1 0 1 28
12 ANDERSON,Anthony.... g 10-13 5-7 0-0 0 4 4 1 25 8 3 0 1 39
02 ROGERS,Jackie....... 7-8 0-0 4-4 2 5 7 3 18 1 1 0 1 29
14 KOTARIDIS,Paco...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
20 ONUORA,Arthur....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
40 BRAND,Micah......... 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 12
50 COX,Marcus.......... 3-4 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 4 7 2 2 0 2 20
TEAM................ 1
Totals.............. 26-45 10-19 8-10 4 22 26 17 70 17 16 6 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-21 42.9% 2nd Half: 17-24 70.8% Game: 57.8% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 7-11 63.6% Game: 52.6% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 4-6 66.7% Game: 80.0% 1,2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Mike Kitts, Joe Lindsay, Gene Monje Technical fouls: Duquesne-DOKES,Ron. Massachusetts-COX,Marcus; ROGERS,Jackie. Attendance: 3828 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Duquesne...................... 28 27 - 55 Massachusetts................. 25 45 - 70