AMHERST, Mass. – Sunday’s matchup of New England Atlantic 10 rivals was one of two teams seemingly going in opposite directions. One might not have figured as much when noticing that both entered the game with identical 4-2 records in Atlantic 10 play, but the end result – a UMass win over Rhode Island – reflected where the teams were headed at that moment.
UMass is moving forward and in a tie for third in the conference with its 5-2 mark as they enter a week with two road games. After a slip in play during December, they are playing well again with four wins in their last five outings. Opponents are shooting around 39 percent from the field against the Minutemen in Atlantic 10 play, and that’s where it has all started.
Just as important, areas that were question marks for some of the season are getting shored up. Although the scoring column won’t immediately reflect it on Sunday, Anthony Gurley now has more help. He was the only double-digit scorer for the Minutemen with 21, but four players scored between six and nine points in a relatively low-scoring game.
Perhaps the most important question mark, that of who would be the point guard, is becoming less of a concern as Gary Correia improves. The senior, who is by nature a shooting guard, has had his struggles at the position but now appears to be growing into it. He had five assists and one turnover against Rhode Island and simply ran the team.
“He’s starting to actually get a feel for what I’m looking for on the floor, when I want to run different things and what I want to do,” said head coach Derek Kellogg.
The Minutemen reach 5-2 after a week with some adversity, as their trip to St. Bonaventure had a detour to Albany after there was smoke in the cockpit of their plane. They went to Olean a little later than planned and got a victory to come home with. Kellogg joked that they tried to reproduce part of it for Sunday’s game.
“We actually walked through in a mass room because we couldn’t find an airport,” said the UMass mentor with a smile.
Rhode Island, on the other hand, may be 4-3 but isn’t in a great place right now. Part of the reason is health, which has been a challenge all season. It started early, with forward Levan Shengelia suffering a season-ending knee injury in the season opener, and that came after Jamal Wilson was out with a foot injury that has him back on the shelf once again. As if that’s not enough, guard Daniel West is academically ineligible for the second semester.
With West out, the Rams have to dig deeper into their bench. Anthony Baskerville, a wide receiver on the football team who joined the basketball team in December, is now seeing minutes at the point guard spot. That tells you how much this team is hurting from a depth standpoint, and that’s not something to be taken lightly. The way they play, depth is a necessity, and Baron has constantly spoken of how much they need their bench. That was a strength last season, but hasn’t been one this year in part from injuries.
“We really need our bench,” said Baron. “We really need to have a bench, especially the way we play as far as running the ball.”
Now the struggles with the bench are more acute. Baron isn’t one to greatly shorten the bench just because the options get more limited. He’s going to try to get something out of Baskerville and more out of Ryan Brooks, the latter of whom has shown flashes of potential but hasn’t been consistently effective. Orion Outerbridge was shaken up on Sunday, and their hope is that it’s not serious.
The Minutemen appear to be in a better place for the moment while the Rams have a serious depth concern on their hands. The good thing for the Rams is in February, they have a three-game homestand where they can get on a late roll. By then they will have had a chance to build up more depth, while UMass will have had a chance to continue their improvement.
