Minutemen clock Flyers
Youngsters’ time to shine in Amherst
AMHERST — After a winless start to conference play, a young UMass team faced adversity for the first time this season. And with two of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s top teams on deck in Dayton last night and Rhode Island on Sunday, things looked bleak.
But faced with its toughest stretch of the season, the Minutemen came out with their biggest win. Led by sophomore Rashaan Holloway and its freshman backcourt of Luwane Pipkins and Dejon Jarreau, UMass used defense and timely offense to topple A-10 preseason favorite Dayton, 67-55, at the Mullins Center.
It was the type of win that will leave these inexperienced Minutemen (11-6, 1-3 A-10) feeling good about themselves. Maybe too good.
“We knew we had to get a win, versus the No. 1 team in our conference, supposedly,” Pipkins said. “But from the look of things, we beat them, so in my eyes we’re the No. 1 team in our conference.”
Said Jarreau: “That should be the outcome every game because we’re way better than how we’ve been playing. We should be 4-0 right now.”
Leave it to the coach to keep things in perspective.
“I don’t know if we definitely should be 4-0,” Derek Kellogg said. “But I think we’re working toward getting better and just trying to play the right way during the game that will give us an opportunity to win.”
After falling behind by 13 points in the first half, the experienced Flyers (12-4, 3-1) made a game of it, tying the score at 38 early in the second. But UMass locked back in defensively and ran away with it.
Dayton turned the ball over 11 times in the first half after coming in averaging 11.4 per game, and the Flyers continued to beat themselves in the second half with mistakes and missed layups.
With the Minutemen up 42-41 midway through the second half, Jarreau (13 points, seven rebounds, six assists) made plays on both ends that spurred a 10-0 run. The point guard hit a 3-pointer and followed with a dish to Holloway that capped the run, and later, after Dayton had started chipping away again, his one-handed dunk on a fast break put the exclamation point on the win.
“Once we’re able to get that kind of energy from the whole team, we’re a good, good, good team,” Jarreau said. “When everyone’s feeling good and involved.”
In all, Dayton committed 19 turnovers and their 55 points were a season low. Kyle Davis led the Flyers with 16 points.
Holloway was also a force on both ends, with 14 points and seven rebounds, as he continued his strong start to the season. Pipkins paced the scoring with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
“I think we’re maturing,” Kellogg said. “It’s just figuring out how to win, and I think that’s something that can only come through playing games and getting put in adverse situations. But it shows the guys have some character and toughness.”