Minutemen Win Ugly, Rebound From Loss
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Travis Ford was happy to win an ugly game, and not just for the sake of winning alone. Naturally, he wanted the win, but the UMass head coach wanted it to come in a good way. That was especially true after the Minutemen followed up their big win at Syracuse with a loss at IUPUI.
“I’m glad to see that we can win a non-pretty game, because we’re a team that kind of likes to be pretty – shoot threes and run and gun,” said the third-year head coach. “It’s good to see that we can win that game.”
There were times in the game where the Minutemen looked to be in some trouble, most notably when Marist opened up a 58-52 lead with 8:19 left. Gary Forbes and Etienne Brower were both in foul trouble, and neither was having an exceptional night offensively as two of the team’s top three scorers. For most of the game, the Red Foxes were able to keep the pace down, which favored them. In the first half, the Red Foxes shot 52 percent from the field to overcome 13 turnovers.
The Minutemen could have been in more trouble early on if not for the play of junior guard Chris Lowe, who continues to improve and has battled nagging injuries thus far this season. Lowe scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the first half and kept them in it as they were just 2-11 from long range. The way he made things happen while others struggled wasn’t lost on Ford or Lowe’s teammates.
“Chris Lowe was incredible tonight. He played terrific,” said Forbes, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. “The coaches were putting a lot of pressure on him, coming back from everybody’s effort, including his. He makes us go – he’s the point guard of the team, he’s the anchor, he’s the guy that leads us. So for him to come out and respond like that showed a lot of maturity and was terrific for us.”
While Lowe kept them in it, it was the defense that ultimately won the game. Just past the halfway point, Forbes and Brower were on the bench with four fouls, and shortly thereafter, the Red Foxes grabbed the lead. At that point, Tony Gaffney and the rest of the defense took over.
“It was a true case of the first time this year where our defense was the reason we won,” said Ford. “Our defense that we went to fueled our offense.”
Gaffney, never known for his defense but more for having loads of potential and not the consistency, has emerged as an energy player off the bench. He brought plenty of it on Saturday, blocking five shots in the second half. All five came in the final 11:30 of the game, four in a stretch of over three minutes late in the game where the Minutemen went on a 27-6 run.
“Every time I hear that we’re not a good defensive team, I take that straight to heart,” said Gaffney, who sat out last season after transferring from Boston University. “As much pride as my team takes on offense, I try to take that pride on defense.”
The Minutemen focused on defense all week after losing at IUPUI. Ford wasn’t happy with their effort in that game, one where the Jaguars’ guards penetrated almost at will against them and there wasn’t someone near the hoop to block shots. The Minutemen forced just nine turnovers in the game and allowed the Jaguars to shoot over 48 percent from the field, including 54.5 percent in the second half. They lost despite shooting 50 percent from the field.
“We’ve been working on it all week, because Coach was very disappointed with our effort against IUPUI,” said Forbes.
Having won Saturday’s game the way they did, they would appear as ready as they can be for Boston College on Wednesday. Boston College has won eight straight games in this series, and while the Eagles are much younger this season, they are fresh off a big road win at Maryland on Sunday night.
Still, the Minutemen are clicking in such a way that, along with the Eagles’ youth, this might be their chance to end that losing streak, although the game is in Chestnut Hill. Saturday’s win, in a game that could be like Wednesday since the Eagles will surely try to slow the game down, bodes well for their chances.
