MHERST - With three days between Wednesday's 42-point loss at Temple and Sunday's 2 p.m. game at Rhode Island, University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Steve Lappas made Thursday's practice a rough one.
MHERST - With three days between Wednesday's 42-point loss at Temple and Sunday's 2 p.m. game at Rhode Island, University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Steve Lappas made Thursday's practice a rough one.
"It helped to be able to do something I wouldn't have done with two days rest," he said. "They've responded well when we've been in this situation in the past. Hopefully they'll respond again."
Responding would mean upsetting an improved Rhode Island team.
In their second year under coach Jim Baron, the Rams have won as many games as they did the last two years combined.
They are currently 15-10 (7-7 Atlantic 10), but have struggled lately, losing their last four to Xavier, Dayton, Richmond and Temple.
Baron said it's been a rewarding year.
"You get to a point where all of a sudden, you're beating people that beat you up pretty good last year," he said. "To do it collectively is something you really worked for. You try to keep them hungry and focused. That's the challenge."
The game will mark UMass' first trip to the Ryan Center, the Rams' 7,800-seat new on-campus facility.
It will be Senior Day at Rhody as Lazare Adingono, Howard Smith and Brian Woodward will be honored prior to the game.
Woodward sat out his freshman year and could return next season.
Smith, who injured his knee in Rhody's loss to Dayton, Wednesday, may not play. The URI offense would miss his 4.8 assists per game. His 2.77-to-1 assist to turnover ration leads the Atlantic 10.
The last time these two teams met, UMass blew an early 14-point lead and fell 60-53 at the Mullins Center.
UMass did an excellent job on then URI leading-scorer Dustin Hellenga, holding him to four points in that game.
Freshman Dawan Robinson led the Rams with 16 points off the bench in that game.
The Minutemen were without Micah Brand last time and lost freshman Mike Lasme in the second half to an ankle injury.
Lasme is currently battling a left-elbow injury, but he practiced Friday and will play unless he re-aggravates it.
Lappas thinks the Minutemen match up much better against Rhody than they did against Temple.
"I think physically we do match up pretty well with them, which obviously gives us a much better chance," he said.
Baron was concerned about UMass leading scorer Jackie Rogers, whom he recruited when he was the coach of St. Bonaventure. Rogers is averaging 12.9 points per game.
"They're a good team. They had some injuries when we played them last. They have some guys that can score," Baron said. "Jackie Rogers is as good as anybody in the league."
NOTES: There was no update on St. Bonaventure's eligibility questions regarding Jamil Terrell, the junior college big man who was declared ineligible Thursday.
UMass athletic director Ian McCaw said the Atlantic 10 athletic directors did discuss Terrell's situation on a conference call Thursday, but they were asked not to reveal any contents of the conversation.
If St. Bonaventure is forced to forfeit all of the games Terrell played in, UMass would move into fourth place.
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
t's too bad the Steve Lappas radio show was held on Thursday this week. If it had been held just a couple days earlier, the UMass coach would have been able to talk about the team's three-game winning streak.
Unfortunately for Lappas, he was forced to go on the radio and fight a somber mood after being whipped by 42 against Temple on Wednesday night.
"If Duquesne had been last night, we'd be feeling a lot better now," said Lappas on his weekly show. "It's hard. I'm an emotional person so I tend to get emotionally involved in the situation. Just losing at Temple isn't that bad. But losing that way at Temple is bad."
Now it's Lappas' job to help his team start another winning streak. And with only three games left in the Atlantic 10 season, and UMass fighting for the right to host a tournament game, that quest starts with an important game at Rhode Island.
UMass currently sits in fifth place in the A-10 East and two games back of the fourth-place Rams. The Minutemen have one game at hand on URI, so a win would greatly increase their chance of hosting a first-round contest.
To do that, UMass will have to contain star scorer Brian Woodward. In a 60-53 Minuteman loss on Jan. 15, Woodward paced the Rams with 14 points while shooting guard Dustin Hellenga struggled to find his shot.
Dawan Robinson aided the cause with 16 points off the bench. And the Minutemen can't expect Hellenga to have another bad game.
He's averaging 13.3 points a contest, good for second on the team.
But the Rams are not playing their best basketball right now. They've lost three straight, including a one-point loss to an inconsistent Richmond team on Saturday.
Luckily, they're home at the brand new Ryan Center to face a worn-out UMass team.
Not only does Lappas have three freshmen starting and playing major minutes, but he has sophomore point guard Anthony Anderson playing almost 40 minutes in any game that's close.
"These guys are being really tested right now," Lappas said. "They're really being pushed to the limit."
Michael Lasme is probably feeling the effects more than most. At this time last year, his high school regular season was over. But now he has at least four more contests in front of him, and he has already played 24 games with one of an assortment of injuries.
This while Jeff Viggiano has been off and on with his 3-point shot, and Lee has had to face centers that outweigh him by 20 to 30 pounds on a regular basis.
That isn't necessarily a formula for success. But in the 10 games it has worked (next to 15 when it hasn't), it's been Anderson who's carried the load.
"I've had players like that before [that were a gauge for the team's success,]" Lappas said. "But I've had a 5-foot-9 point guard who has done that. It's not like he's a 6-foot-6 shooter or a 6-foot-9 forward. It's a lot to ask of a guy who is 5-foot-9, to do that."
But the proof is there. In UMass' last six games (3-3), Anderson has averaged 20 points in wins and 11 points in losses. He's also dished out averaged over six assists in victories while never having more than four in a loss.
Needless to say, Anderson has a good amount of pressure on his narrow shoulders. Maybe sometime in the next couple years he won't have to do it all for a UMass victory.
But right now, he's the catalyst.
INGSTON R.I.- With two teams fighting for position, and over 7,000 fans in attendance at Rhode Island's Ryan Center, UMass' 65-58 loss to the Rams had a postseason feel to it.
 Jackie Rogers adds a degree of difficulty to the close-range shot. |
After Micah Brand's two free throws tied the game at 56 with just over two minutes remaining, Robinson answered right back with a deep three.
"His asset is taking some guys off the drive," URI coach Jim Baron said. "But I tell you, he hit some big, big shots today."
At the other end Brand hit two more free throws to make it a one-point game. But the Rams countered again as Lazare Adingono drove and dished to Marcel Momplaisir for the slam.
Then Jeff Viggiano, who struggled going 2-9 from the field, missed a baseline three that sealed the loss.
Down nine, the Rams (16-10, 8-7 Atlantic 10)began the second half, in much the same way they began the game, with a decisive run.
After Anthony Anderson fed Jackie Rogers in the lane for a dunk at the 17:00 minute mark, rookie Robinson took over.
"He was huge for them," Brand said. "We knew going in that he was more of a driver. So we played a little off him. He took advantage of that."
He had 11 points in less than five minutes as Rhody used an 18-6 run to erase the deficit and take a one-point lead with 12 minutes remaining.
Thanks in large part to Robinson's 23 second-half points, the Rams never trailed again.
Brand paced the Minutemen with 18 points and a perfect 10-10 performance from the line.
"Brand did a great job," UMass coach Steve Lappas said. "He came out very focused and he wants to get the most out of his last few weeks."
UMass began the first half ice cold from the field. The Minutemen shot just 1-9 from the field in the game's first eight minutes including 0-6 from beyond the arc.
Micah Brand's dunk off of a feed from Jeff Viggiano provided the only points scored during that stretch.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island took advantage with a 13-2 run. Center Jon Clark was the catalyst with five of the game's first seven points.
Top scorers Dustin Hellenga and Brian Woodward added a pair of fast break dunks to cap the run and ignite the Ryan Center crowd.
Mike Lasme, who has seen limited time in the last two games due to injury, came off the bench to cool Rhody off.
The freshman shooting guard hit his first four threes on a 32-15 run that gave UMass a nine-point lead at halftime.
Lasme finished with 15 points at halftime on 5-9 shooting. But Baron made the adjustment from zone defense to man to shut him down in the second half.
"Our man really gave us good energy," Baron said. "And I thought we tired them out a little bit. Lasme wasn't as quick coming off screens."
Anthony Anderson added eight points on the streak while a Gabe Lee block with five minutes left stymied the Rams counter.
Viggiano shut down Hellenga in the first half. The sophomore guard had only four points in 20 minutes and they all came with Viggiano on the bench.
On the other end, Clark held leading scorer Jackie Rogers to only two first half points. All while Clark himself dropped five points and grabbed eight rebounds.
With the loss UMass (11-16, 5-9 A-10) is officially eliminated from National Invitation Tournament contention.
INGSTON, R.I. - Progress has been difficult to come by this season for the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, but there is one area they seemed to have improved: maintaining a second-half lead. Yet after blowing an 11-point advantage over the final 17:01 of yesterday's 65-58 loss to Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island, the Minutemen faced yet another retreat to the drawing board.
Not since they blew a 25-point lead against UConn Dec. 10 had the Minutemen (11-16, 5-9) lost after leading by double digits in the second half. They lost a 20-point cushion in the second half against Richmond Feb. 12, but still prevailed, 54-53. In fact, the last time the Minutemen lost after leading in the second half was against Rhode Island (60-53) Jan. 15, when they led, 49-48, with 6:00 remaining.
Yesterday, URI sophomore guard Dawan Robinson, who started for the first time this season after Howard Smith sustained a right knee injury Wednesday against Dayton, scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, shooting 7 of 9 from the floor. That included a 4-for-4 effort from 3-point range for a player who entered the contest shooting 19.7 percent from long distance.
UMass led, 34-25, at halftime and increased its lead to 11 twice in the second half, the last time at 38-27 with 17:01 left. Robinson then scored 14 points as URI outscored UMass, 21-6, to lead, 48-44, with 10:09 to go.
''He was huge for them,'' said UMass center Micah Brand, who had a team-high 18 points, hitting all 10 free throws. ''He hit a lot of open shots. We knew he was a driver and we played him for that, and he took advantage of it.''
UMass shooting guard Michael Lasme (15 first-half points) helped the Minutemen rally from an 11-point first-half deficit with five treys. But he picked up three fouls during the Rams' second-half run and was scoreless after halftime.
''I had to watch every move I was making and that made my job tough,'' said Lasme.
For Robinson, who sat out last season after failing to meet eligibility requirements, it was the most points anyone has scored against UMass all season.
UMass managed to tie the game, 56-56, with 2:18 left on two free throws by Brand. But UMass would muster just two more Brand free throws the rest of the way. The Minutemen didn't have a field goal over the final 2:53.
''Every team plays me for the drive, but I know I can shoot 3-pointers,'' said Robinson. ''I just came out with a lot of confidence knowing I could shoot them and I hit them.''
URI, meanwhile, finished strongly. Robinson drained his fourth trey with 2:01 left to put the Rams up for good, 59-56. Brand cut it to 59-58 with 1:40 left, but URI countered with a dunk by Marcel Momplaisir with 1:19 to go and sank 4 of 6 free throws the rest of the way.
''We're not a good shooting basketball team, and we have to find ways to win,'' said URI coach Jim Baron, whose team snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 16-10 and 8-7, eclipsing URI's victory total - conference and overall - from the previous two seasons. ''This is a big win for us at this time.''
It was the inverse for UMass, coming off a 42-point loss at Temple Wednesday night that snapped a three-game winning streak. The Minutemen remain in fifth place in the A-10 East but could finish fourth and host a first-round game in the conference tournament if they win their last two regular-season games (home against St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's), or if St. Bonaventure is forced to forfeit games because it used a reportedly academically ineligible player, Jamil Terrell.
''Our guys played very well,'' said UMass coach Steve Lappas. ''I thought it was a tough game for us in the way it was officiated. It was a lot of handchecking and that doesn't make it easy for us because we don't play that way. But I thought our guys played their heads off and did the best they could.''
INGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island freshman Dawan Robinson's career is just 26 games old, but he has already established himself as a University of Massachusetts nemesis.
 Mike Lasme tries to keep up with Bam Harmon. |
Sunday, he took over the game in the second half and led the Rams to a 65-58 win over UMass at the Ryan Center.
Robinson finished with a career-high 29 points, the most anyone has scored against the Minutemen this year.
The Minutemen play host to St. Bonaventure, Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
UMass, which led by nine at halftime, took its biggest lead of the game with 17 minutes, 22 seconds left when a Jackie Rogers dunk made it 38-27, right before Robinson took over.
With a short jumper and a pair of 3-pointers, Robinson strung together an 8-0 run by himself to cut the lead to three at 38-35.
The spurt brought the 7,747-strong crowd back into the game.
"I can't thank them enough," Baron said of the second largest-crowd in the building's one-year history. "They were certainly our sixth man tonight."
The Minutemen were able to hold off the Rams briefly, pushing their lead back to 42-38. But a three-point play by Robinson, followed by Steve Mello's only basket of the game, gave the Rams a 43-42 lead.
Rhody stayed just ahead for most of the stretch run until Micah Brand hit two free throws to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:18 left, but Robinson answered with an NBA 3-pointer.
"I'll tell you what, he hit some big shots," said URI coach Jim Baron, who repeated himself for emphasis. "He hit some big shots."
UMass had several chances to tie the game in the final two minutes, but Anthony Anderson, Jeff Viggiano and Brennan Martin all missed 3s as Rhode Island escaped.
The Minutemen tipped their hats to Robinson.
"He was obviously huge for them. We knew coming in he was more of a driver so we were playing him more for that," Micah Brand said. "He took advantage of that. We laid off him a little too much. He made a couple open 3s."
UMass coach Steve Lappas agreed.
"He's been playing great for about four or five games," he said. "But he's usually a 20 percent 3-point shooter this season. That's what happens when you get in the zone. That kid was making shots. He wasn't making easy shots."
The loss assured the Minutemen (11-16, 5-9 A-10) of their second-consecutive losing season, while the Rams (16-10, 8-7) clinched themselves a home game in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which begins March. 10.
"I thought we played well today," Lappas said. "I thought we played hard and did a lot of good things. I was happy with our effort. We're disappointed that we lost, but we're not mad."
Brand led UMass with 18 points, his first double-figure output since Feb. 5, and seven rebounds. Mike Lasme, who made five 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 15 points.
"Micah Brand was terrific," Lappas said. "He did a great job. We had a talk the other day. I thought he came out very focused. He said he wanted to get the most out of the last weeks of his career."
The Minutemen were woefully out of sync early as the Rams opened a 13-2 advantage before UMass came to life.
After Jackie Rogers scored inside, Lasme found the range. He hit three 3s in 1:25, starting a 19-4 UMass run that gave the Minutemen their first lead at 19-17 with 7:17 left in the first half. They rode that momentum until halftime when Anderson's 3 with just over one second left sent the Minutemen to the locker room ahead 34-25.
Lasme got extra attention in the second half.
"They were more aggressive on the defensive end," he said. "I never got an open look in the second half."
Lappas, whose team got heckled throughout, liked the building, but didn't share Baron's love for the crowd.
"Nice facility. The security has to get beefed up a little bit," Lappas said. "I'm not laughing. I'm dead serious."
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
INGSTON, R.I. - With two games left in the regular season, the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team needs an upset and some help or a bureaucratic decision to earn a home game in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Sunday's 65-58 loss to Rhode Island knocked UMass (11-16, 5-9) out of contention for third place in the Atlantic 10 East and guaranteed their second-straight losing season in conference play. To finish fourth, the Minutemen need to beat St. Bonaventure Wednesday and Saint Joseph's Saturday, and for the Bonnies to lose to Dayton, Saturday.
The games may prove inconsequential however, as St. Bonaventure is awaiting a ruling from the Atlantic 10 or NCAA that could force it to forfeit as many as 12 of its, victories including six in the A-10. That would drop the Bonnies from fourth to last in the Atlantic 10 East.
Junior big man Jamil Terrell was declared ineligible earlier this week and may have been ineligible for all 25 games he participated in.
Atlantic 10 Commissioner Linda Bruno was quoted in the Olean Times Herald as saying "forfeits are possible, but not the only option."
The presidents of all 12 Atlantic 10 schools will meet by conference call Monday to discuss Terrell's eligibility and how to further proceed.
The loss ended UMass' longshot hopes of a National Invitation Tournament berth. The only way UMass can have a season at or above .500 is to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
LAPPAS BOW TIE - UMass coach Steve Lappas wore a bow tie Sunday to honor Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan, who coached his final regular season game Saturday and will retire after the season. Phelan is 73 years old and coached over 800 victories in 49 years at the rural Maryland school.
REBOUNDING - Rhode Island controlled the glass, out rebounding UMass 41-29. The Minutemen have been outrebounded in 13 of their 16 losses.
ROAD RECORD - UMass finished the season 3-11 away from the Mullins Center. That record includes a home loss at the Springfield Civic Center, three games at the neutral Maui Invitational and 10 games in opponents' gyms.
RECORD BOOKS - Anthony Anderson's two 3-pointers moved him into a tie for fifth on the school's career chart with Derek Kellogg. Both hit 138 in their career. Lorenzo Sutton is No. 4 at 178. Micah Brand's 18 points put him in the top 50 all-time scorers at UMass, passing Trigger Burke.
MISCELLANEOUS -Lappas has still yet to hear from Raheim Lamb, the junior forward who last week said he planned on transferring. ... Brand's 18 points were a season high and just his third double-digit scoring game since Jan. 1. This was the first time UMass blew a second-half lead since Jan. 15, the last time they played Rhode Island. ... This was the fourth double-digit lead UMass lost this season and third time they lost the game when it happened. ... This was Rhody's first sweep of the Minutemen since the 1998-99 season. ... Former UMass player Tyrone Weeks is now 5-2 against his Alma Mater in three years as an assistant coach - one with St. Bonaventure and the last two with URI all under Jim Baron. ... Rhode Island point guard Howard Smith was honored before the game as part of the Rams' senior day. But because of a knee injury, he didn't enter the game until the final seconds, when the Rams had already clinched the win.
Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected].
| Massachusetts Minutemen | 58 |
| Rhode Island Rams | 65 |
| at Rhode Island | |
Official Basketball Box Score
Massachusetts vs Rhode Island
03/02/03 2:00 p.m. at Kingston, R.I. (Ryan Center)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Massachusetts 11-16, 5-9
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
02 ROGERS,Jackie....... f 4-8 0-0 0-1 2 3 5 5 8 1 2 0 2 26
22 VIGGIANO,Jeff....... f 2-9 0-6 1-2 0 0 0 3 5 4 1 0 1 35
04 LEE,Gabe............ c 0-3 0-1 0-1 2 4 6 2 0 0 1 5 0 22
00 MARTIN,Brennan...... g 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
12 ANDERSON,Anthony.... g 3-9 2-8 0-0 0 5 5 0 8 5 2 0 0 40
01 LASME,Michael....... 5-13 5-10 0-0 0 0 0 4 15 2 5 0 0 28
40 BRAND,Micah......... 4-7 0-1 10-10 2 5 7 4 18 3 0 0 1 26
50 COX,Marcus.......... 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 4 4 1 1 0 0 19
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 20-54 7-28 11-14 8 21 29 23 58 16 13 5 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 7-23 30.4% Game: 37.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-17 41.2% 2nd Half: 0-11 0.0% Game: 25.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 10-12 83.3% Game: 78.6% 1,2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Rhode Island 16-10, 8-7
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 ADINGONO,Lazare..... f 3-10 0-4 1-2 1 1 2 4 7 2 2 0 0 30
20 WOODWARD,Brian...... f 3-14 0-3 6-8 3 6 9 1 12 4 1 0 2 36
44 CLARK,Jon........... c 2-4 0-0 1-3 3 6 9 5 5 0 1 0 0 26
05 ROBINSON,Dawan...... g 8-12 4-5 9-11 0 6 6 1 29 2 3 0 5 38
24 HELLENGA,Dustin..... g 2-8 0-3 0-1 1 3 4 0 4 3 1 0 0 25
01 MACK,Terrence....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1
02 HARMON,Bamfield..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 2
04 SMITH,Howard........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
11 MELLO,Steve......... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 15
32 WISE,Jamaal......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7
42 MOMPLAISIR,Marcel... 3-3 0-0 0-1 4 1 5 2 6 0 0 0 0 13
54 HOLM,Chris.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 22-55 4-15 17-26 14 27 41 17 65 11 13 0 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 40.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-8 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 26.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-7 71.4% 2nd Half: 12-19 63.2% Game: 65.4% 5,1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Bob Donato, Thomas Lopes, Gene Monje Technical fouls: Massachusetts-None. Rhode Island-None. Attendance: 7747 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Massachusetts................. 34 24 - 58 Rhode Island.................. 25 40 - 65 Second-largest on-campus crowd in school history.