OLEAN, N.Y. — The game ended up meaning nothing in terms of seeding or standings, but UMass coach Derek Kellogg hoped Saturday’s scrappy performance in a 60-56 loss to St. Bonaventure would serve as a confidence-builder for his team entering next week’s conference tournament.
“Our team showed we’re going to go to Pittsburgh and play with some fight,” Kellogg said. “We’ll see if we can make something happen. These guys are committed to trying to win. We just haven’t figured it out. Hopefully the learning process kicks in. They’re trying. They’re really trying.”
UMass will play Saint Joseph’s Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Pittsburgh.
The Minutemen mixed up defenses throughout against St. Bonaventure’s high-scoring backcourt of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley, switching from zone to man-to-man to a box-and-one on Adams, not to mention a particularly effective triangle-and-two. The plan was effective. Adams was 2-for-11 from the field, Mobley (5 points) 1-for-7.
But with the Minutemen leading 45-41, Adams knocked down his first shot and only 3-pointer to bring the Bonnies crowd back into the game with 8:43 left. After a Minuteman miss at the other end, Adams (17 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds) hit his other basket, a driving layup to put the home team up 46-45.
The game went back and forth from there, with the teams trading baskets until Malik Hines laid the ball in and got fouled with 2:51 left. But he missed the free throw, leaving UMass up 53-52.
After David Andoh (12 points) answered with a jumper that made it 54-53, the Minutemen had a turnover and three missed shots before Donte Clark fouled Adams. The junior guard made free throws nine and 10 of a 12-for-12 performance to push the Bonnies lead to 56-53 with 30 seconds left.
Zach Lewis got fouled driving to the basket and made the first free throw to make it 56-54 with 25 seconds left. He missed the second but the rebound caromed to Hines, who had a chance to tie the game before the ball slipped off his fingers out of bounds, giving SBU the ball back with 24 seconds left.
After Mobley made two free throws, DeJon Jarreau put his own miss back in with 13 seconds left to get UMass within two, 58-56. But following two more Adams free throws, C.J. Anderson threw the ball away with 7 seconds left to seal the final result.
“Both teams played very hard and showed some desire to win,” Kellogg said. “St. Bonaventure made a couple extra plays down the stretch that we weren’t able to match.”
The Minutemen hung in despite a combined nine points by Clark (4), Lewis (3) Luwane Pipkins (1) and Rashaan Holloway (1). Hines helped offset that with career highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds, sparking UMass early in the second half.
“All of a sudden Malik played like a monster out there,” Kellogg said. “That might have been better than any two games he’s had, honestly. I was really happy for him. Rashaan has not played great as of late and we needed someone to pick up the slack. Malik was willing and able.”
Hines said he didn’t know what made Saturday different.
“I was just tired of losing I guess,” said Hines, who came in averaging 3.3 points per game. “The game went on and I felt a little more confident I guess.”
Freshman Chris Baldwin had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Neither team had anything going offensively in a first-half rock fight. They combined to shoot 20-for-64 from the field and 1-for-16 from 3-point range. But the Bonnies turned 11 offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points.
A mental error cost UMass at the end of the half. Pipkins missed a 3-pointer but Baldwin grabbed the offensive rebound with 24 second left. He got the ball to Jarreau, who missed an open 3 from the left side. Pipkins hauled in the rebound with 21 seconds left, giving UMass a chance to hold for the last shot. The players couldn’t hear Kellogg yelling to pull the ball back out. Pipkins made the layup but was called for traveling with 16 seconds left. The Bonnies took advantage of the extra possession when Andoh hit an elbow jumper with five seconds left to make it 30-23.