The Minutemen took on instate rival Boston College on Saturday night at the TD Garden as part of the Boston Tip-Off Classic.  The Minutemen were originally scheduled to play Boston College at the Mullins Center this year, but they forfeited their home court in order to play at the Garden. A vast majority of the crowd was made up of UMass fans and it felt like an away game for the Boston College, whose campus is only seven miles away from the Garden. The Eagles were able to put the hostile crowd behind them and hand the Minutemen their first loss of the season 76-71.

The Minutemen struggled in the first half.  The Eagles hit back to back three pointers and the Minutemen were quickly down 6-0. The Minutemen were able to keep it close and eventually  pulled to with one point 20-19 with 7:45 remaining in the first half. The Eagles pulled away and led at half time 35-24.

Anthony Gurley led the Minutemen with 22 points, 20 of which came in the second half (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

The Minutemen could not close the gap until about halfway through the second half. The final 10 minutes of the game was truly a battle. The Minutemen pulled within two points on four separate occasions but they were not able to get over the hump. Every time the Minutemen pulled within two points, the Eagles upperclassmen stepped up and hit some key shots to seal the Eagles victory.

The Minutemen were led by Anthony Gurley’s 22 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Gurley also recorded five rebounds and two assists and played all 20 minutes of the second half. The Eagles were led by Junior guard Reggie Jackson’s 17 points and six rebounds.

Daryl Traynham was a huge spark off the bench in UMass’ second half run. He was able to disrupt the Eagle’s offense and give Boston College guard Reggie Jackson some trouble. He was one of the only players who could keep up

Daryl Traynham was a big spark for the Minutemen off the bench

with Jackson. Traynham showed his potential by making some good passes and good ball control, he only had two turn overs.

Four Minutemen scored eight points or more, Daryl Traynham (9 points) , Freddie Riley (9 points), Javorn Farrell (8 points) and Terrell Vinson (8 points).

Sean Carter led the Minutemen with 11 rebounds.

Boston College Senior center Josh Southern was a beast in the paint. He was 7-7 from the floor and 2-2 from the free throw line. The Minutemen did not have an answer for the 6’10 263 pound big man.

The Minutemen will look to get back on track against the Maine Black Bears on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.

UMass played their first road game of the season last Wednesday night against Quinnipiac. The Minutemen were up by 17 at halftime but the Bobcats were able to cut the lead in the second half. The game was tied 64-64 with 13 seconds remaining in the game. Anthony Gurley made a lay up at the buzzer to seal the victory for the Minutemen. The shot looked like it was blocked by Quinnipiac big man Justin Rutty, but it was called goaltending. The Minutemen had a hard time containing Rutty, who had 21 points an 13 rebounds. The Quinnipiac Bobcats out rebounded UMass 54-36 in the game.

UMass was led by Sophomore Javorn Farrell who recorded a career high 25 points. It was the first game of the season that Anthony Gurley did not lead the Minutemen in scoring, although he still recorded 19 points. Farrell also recorded five rebounds and one assist.

Freddie Riley (7 points) and Sampson Carter (9 points) also contributed for the Minutemen.

The Minutemen are having trouble holding on to big leads. The were able to fend off Holy Cross and were just barely able to hold on against Quinnipiac. It seems like when they are up, they take the foot off the gas and try to just coast through the rest of the game, while at the same time their opponents are putting the peddle to the metal. Hopefully they will figure out how to hold a lead before they begin Atlantic 10 play in January.

It has been almost 18 years since UMass played a regular season game at the Curry Hicks Cage. The Cage was home to the UMass basketball program from the mid 1930′s all the way up until December of 1993. The Minutemen transitioned from the small and cozy confines of the Cage to the state of the art 9,493 seat Mullins Center in the middle of the 1993-1994 season.

Freddie Riley recorded 17 points in 17 minutes for the Minutemen (Photo by J. Anthony Roberts/ Masslive.com)

The Minutemen did not disappoint in their return to the Cage on Saturday afternoon. The Minutemen were able to hold off a late Holy Cross run for a 83-76 victory over the Crusaders. The game started off pretty close, with both teams battling back and forth. The Minutemen eventually went on an 11-0 run with 12 minutes remaining in the first half to take the lead 23-13 and would go into halftime with a 35-29 lead.

The Minutemen were up 70-46 with eight minutes remaining in the second half and the game looked like a lock for the Minutemen. The Crusaders went on a 24-6 run to cut what was a 24 point lead for the Minutemen down to only four. Thankfully the Minutemen were able to hold on and move to 6-0.

The Minutemen were led once again by Anthony Gurley (24 points, 3 assists). Gurley is averaging more than 21 points per game this season and has led the Minutemen in scoring in their first six games of the season.

Freddie Riley and Sean Carter were  huge contributors  for the Minutemen off the bench. Riley had 17 points in only 17 minutes  and went 5 for 9 from behind the arc. He helped to spark a couple of big UMass runs in the first and second halves. Carter had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in 21 minutes.

Sampson Carter had a decent game.  His shot selection was certainly lacking and he seemed a little over confident at times. He still had 12 points in 26 minutes but only had three rebounds, one of the reasons UMass was out rebounded by Holy Cross. The Minutemen were out rebounded 18-10 in the second half and 35-30 in the game.

Gary Correia, who injured his ankle against TCU, played well for the Minutemen. Correia had eight points and two assists in 32 minutes.

Daryl Traynham sat out this game with a stress “reaction” in his left foot. Javorn Farrell (3 assists) was the back up point guard.

Holy Cross vs UMass at the Curry Hicks Cage on Saturday afternoon

UMass at Quinnipiac

The Minutemen travel to Hamden, CT on Wednesday to take on the Quinnpiac Bobcatsat the TD Banknorth SportsCenter at 7pm. The Bobcats are 3-1 so far this season, with wins over Yale, Hartford and Dartmouth. Last season the Minutemen defeated the Bobcats at the Mullins Center by the score of 62-58.

Four UMass players scored in double digits as the Minutemen manhandled the TCU Horned Frogs 67-48. Anthoney Gurley, Sampson Carter, Freddie Riley, and Javorn Farrell all scored in double digits, with Anthoney Gurley leading the way with 14.

After the first few minutes of this game it looked like it was going to be a lot closer than it actually turned out to be. Both teams traded off big runs in the first 10 minutes of the first half. UMass was down 14-12 with a little over nine minutes to play in the half, but from that point on it was all UMass. The Minutemen went on a 19-2 run and would go into halftime with a 37-21 lead. The Minutemen led by as much as 26 points in the second half and would hold on easily to improve to 4-0.

Anthony Gurley led the Minutemen with 14 points (Photo courtesy of UMassathletics.com)

Javorn Farrell had another big game for the Minutemen. He recorded 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals in 26 minutes. Anthoney Gurley led the Minutemen in scoring, with 14 points and shot 6-10 from the field. Sampson Carter had 10 points along with six rebounds. Freddie Riley recorded 10 points, with seven of those coming in the second half.

Gary Correia looked like he had seriously injured his ankle in the first half but he ended up coming back into the game before halftime. Gary played 19 minutes and hit back to back 3-pointers in the second half.

Daryl Traynham got into foul trouble early in the game and had a technical foul called against him. Traynham recorded five points, two rebounds and one assist in 10 minutes of play.

The Minutemen also saw contributions from Terrell Vinson (9 Points) and Hashim Bailey (6 Rebounds)

It was encouraging to see UMass win so solidly and not have any one player stand out. The Minutemen played solid defense and forced bad passes and bad shots. They have really stepped up their defense since season. They have got to be one of the most athletic teams in the country. They are so fast on both ends of the floor and when they go on runs, they are almost impossible to stop. UMass will need this speed and quickness in January when they begin Atlantic 10 play.

UMass will look to improve to 5-0 on Wednesday night when they take on AIC at the Mullins Center at 7 pm. It would be the first time since the 1995-1996 season that a UMass team would begin the season 5-0.

The UMass Minutemen dismantled the New Mexico State Aggies 71-57 on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA. Before the game, Derek Kellogg asked his team one simple question, “Are you guys going to play like a UMass team should?”

UMass was unstoppable in the first half. It was a breath of fresh air, especially after their poor starts against Rider and Sacred Heart. In their first two games they really struggled to get any kind of momentum and at times, it was painful to watch. They played great on both ends of the floor against New Mexico State. UMass shot 65.4 percent in the first half and were able to hold New Mexico State to only 33 percent. UMass forced 11 Aggie turnovers in the first half, and 16 in the game. New Mexico State was down 44-23 at halftime. They played well in the second half and were able to cut the UMass lead down to 12 in the middle of the half, but that was the closest they would get.

Javorn Farrell recorded a career high 15 points against New Mexico State on Saturday night (Photo by Jerrey Roberts/ Hampshire Gazette)

The Minutemen were led once again by Senior guard Anthoney Gurley’s 21 points. He was named the games MVP. Javorn Farrell played in his first game of the season and made a huge impact. He recorded 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 18 minutes of play. Farrell had missed the first two games with an ankle injury but from the way he performed, it looked like he never skipped a beat. Farrell’s ability to drive to the basket has improved since last season and he showed the ability to take the ball and create his own shot. He even played a little point guard towards the end of the game. Terrell Vinson had 10 points and 6 rebounds and looked like he might be climbing out of the funk that he was in for the first two games. In the games against Rider and Sacred Heart, Vinson really struggled shooting the basketball. It looked like he was forcing every shot and they were just awful looks.  Against New Mexico State, he looked like the Terrell Vinson of last season.

UMass got into early foul trouble in both halves. Surprisingly, Gary Correia, Daryl Traynham, and Javorn Farrell all had four personal fouls before Sean Carter even recorded his first. The referees were calling every little thing and it really slowed the game down for both teams.

It has not been surprising that Anthony Gurley is the leading scorer for the Minutemen in the first three games of the season. He averaged more than 13 points per game last season and it would make sense that he would lead the team this season. It is clear that Gurley is the leader of this team. But he is certainly not alone. Freddie Riley, Sampson Carter, and Javorn Farrell have all recorded career highs in points this season. It is very encouraging to see the kind of depth that this UMass team has. Kellogg appears to have faith in every player that he puts into the game. From Freddie Riley to Matt Hill, each player knows their own role and they seem to fit seamlessly into whatever line up they are subbed into.

UMass will look to improve to 4-0 on  when they take on TCU on Monday at 8pm at the MassMutual Center  in Springfield, MA.

Notes

The Minutemen are 3-0 for the first time since the 2001-2002 season.

The Minutemen were able to hold off a late Sacred Heart run to win by the score of 73-65 and improve to 2-0 overall. I’m sure Derek Kellogg was hoping/expecting that his Minutemen would out score the Pioneers by at least 10 points, but unfortunately that was not the case tonight.

Both teams started off slow with the two teams combining for six points in the first four minutes of the game. Both teams were throwing up bad shots and it seemed like a replay of the first half of the Rider game, except this time, both teams could not score. UMass was carried by sophomore forward Sampson Carter who led all UMass scorers with 12 points in the first half. Carter finished the game with a career high 17 points and 8 rebounds, one rebound shy of tying his career high. Senior guard Anthony Gurley scored a team high 18 points and

Sampson Carter recorded a career high 17 points against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Wednesday. (Photo by J. Anthony Roberts/ Masslive.com)

pulled down 7 rebounds.Freshman point guard Daryl Traynham made his first basket as a Minuteman with 15:40 left in the second half. Traynham ended the game with 11 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. He shot 7 of 9 from the charity stripe and hit hit some key free throws to seal the victory for the Minutemen. His lack of height was evident in this game as a few of his shots were blocked, but what he lacks in height, he makes up for in speed. He was all over the court and recorded a team high 4 steals. Freddie Riley only record 9 points tonight and shot 1-6 from 3-point range and 4-12 overall. His lone 3-pointer was taken from about four feet behind the 3-point line, which was pretty impressive. Terrell Vinson’s scoring struggles continued into this game. He recorded only 4 points in 20 minutes of play.

The Minutemen will travel to Springfield, Massachusetts to take part in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament this weekend. The Minutemen will take on New Mexico State on Saturday and TCU on Monday as part of the Tournament.

Notes

Sophomore guard Javorn Farrell sat out this game with an ankle injury but he is expected to return on Saturday when the Minutemen face New Mexico State.

UMass came back from a HUGE first half deficit to take down the Rider Brocs 77-67 friday night at the Mullins Center. The game was truly a tale of two halves.

There is not much to say about the first half. Simply put, UMass played terribly. They could not get open or make shots or rebound or play defense.  All of this culminated in UMass being down 45-24 at the end of the first half. If it were not for Anthony Gurley’s 12 first half points, UMass could have been down by even more at halftime. To make matters worse, it was UMass’ home opener and there were a large amount of students at the game. The student section at basketball games are usually pretty empty, unless UMass is playing BC or another high profile opponent. So it was dissapointing to see so many students leave at halftime. At the same time what can UMass expect? They were down by 21 at halftime and played some of the worst basketball any of the students in attendence had ever seen.

The beginning of the second half seemed like a continuation of the first, with UMass scoring only five points in the first five minutes. From that point on things began to change. UMass began playing defense and forced Rider to take bad shots and make poor passes. With 16:35 remaining in the game, Sophomore guard Freddie Riley was subbed in to replace Terrell Vinson, who had a tough game. Riley had arguably the best second half of any Minuteman in the Derek Kellogg era. He recorded 23 or his 28 points in the second half alone, going 5 for 6 from 3-point range and making key free throws towards the end of the game to seal the victory.

Anthony Gurley also had a huge second half for the Minutemen. He recorded 19 of his career high 31 points in the second half and seemed to be unstoppable. Even when he was covered, he still found a way to get a shot off and hit it.

Redshirt Sophomore forward Matt Hill, who’s UMass career has been plagued by injuries, finally got a chance to play significant minutes. Hill was a defensive stopper. He played the final 14 minutes of the game and was really a defensive spark and prevented Rider from doing anything in the paint. Sophomore forward Sampson Carter was another Minuteman that stepped up in the second half. He led the team with seven rebounds in 30 minutes of play and was clearly a spark on the defensive end of the floor.

Freshman point guard Daryl Traynham had a strong second half. He didnt score in the game, but he recorded seven assists. He was subbed in to replace Gary Correia right as UMass started to make their comeback. This looked like a risky move on Kelloggs part, but it worked. Traynham showed good ball control and was able to put a lot of pressure on Rider’s star point guard Justin Robinson. Traynham ended the game with seven assists, two steals, and only two turnovers in 16 minutes of play.

The next step for the Minutemen is simple, play quality basketball for 40 minutes.

The Minutemen host the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University on Wednesday, November 17th at 7:00pm at the Mullins Center.

Highly touted shooting guard Jordan Laguerre signed his National Letter of Intent to join the UMass Basketball program for the 2011-2012 season. Laguerre is currently in his second season at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire. He averaged 14 points per game last season with New Hampton but he is expected to have a more influential role in the offense this season.

The 6’2″ 175-pound Laguerre was given a score of 88 by ESPN Recruiting and is listed as the 61st best shooting guard in the country.  According to ESPN Recruiting, “Laguerre is an explosive guard who can get wherever he wants to on the court. He is lightning quick on both ends of the ball. He can make shots in bunches from behind the three-point line and also create space with his step-back in the mid-range area.” In addition to UMass, Laguerre also drew interest from URI, Xavier, Florida Atlantic, VCU and Penn State.

Leguerre looks like he will be a strong addition to the Minutemen and to an already strong 2011 recruiting class for the program. His quickness on both ends of the floor makes him a great fit in Kellogg’s dribble drive offense.

UMass opens up their 2010-2011 season tonight at the Mullins Center against Rider University.

Derek Kellogg is entering his third season as coach of the UMass Minutemen. His first two seasons at UMass were not exactly picture perfect. His team posted a record of 24-38 during his first two seasons as head coach. The the  inability to properly execute the dribble drive offense has really seemed to hurt the team. When Kellogg was hired as head coach in the spring of 2008, he came to a team that was in shambles. Players were leaving the program and transferring left and right (no thanks to Travis Ford) and the players that stuck around did not exactly fit the dribble drive mold. Now in year three, Kellogg believes that he has the players needed to run the dribble drive offense effectively and bring the UMass program back into the national spotlight.

Key Returners

• G Anthony Gurley, R-SR (13.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
• F Terrell Vinson, SO (9.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
• G Freddie Riley, SO (9.3 ppg)
• F Sean Carter, R-JR (5.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
• F Sampson Carter, SO (4.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Key Departures

• G Ricky Harris, Graduated ( 19.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.9 apg)
• G David Gibbs, Transferred to DIII Mount Ida College (2.6 ppg, 2.3 apg)

Notable Arrivals

• F Max Esho, FR, Upper Marlboro, Md./Henry A. Wise H.S./Lee Academy (Maine)
• G Daryl Traynham, FR, Upper Marlboro, Md./Henry A. Wise H.S.
• G Jesse Morgan, FR, Philadelphia,Pa./Olney H.S. Morgan is a late qualifier who originally committed to Seton Hall, will be eligible to play after the fall semester.
• G Chaz Williams, SO, Brooklyn, NY./Bishop Ford H.S./Hofstra. Williams is sitting out the 2010-2011 season as a transfer.

Two Big Questions

1. Who will fill the void left by the departure of Ricky Harris?

Anthony Gurley and Terrell Vinson look like the two who will have to step up and fill the void left by Ricky Harris. Gurley has shown that he has the ability to take over a game. He recorded a double-double against Boston College on December 23, 2009 with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He also had

Gurley averaged 13.6 points per game last season for the Minutemen

a strong game in the Atlantic 10 tournament against Richmond where he recorded a career high 24 points, with a majority of those points coming in the second half. Terrell Vinson had a strong freshman year. He averaged almost 10 points per game and showed that he could be counted on to make a clutch play. Who could forget the clutch lay up Vinson against Memphis last seasons to give UMass the 73-72 upset victory over the Tigers. A year of experience will only make him stronger and it will certainly be interesting to see how he has improved.

2. Point Guard?

Senior point guard Gary Correia looks like he will be the starting point guard, for at least the beginning of the season. This will be a new role for Correia, as he was a back up for the most part during his first three years at UMass. With David Gibbs transferring, Gary Correia went from back up point guard to the only  upperclassman point guard on the roster. Freshman point guard Daryl Traynham will get some playing time, but Kellogg does not want to throw him into the fire. In UMass’s exhibition game against Brandeis University, Traynham looked impressive. He led the team in scoring with 15 points and recorded 3 steals. He is a different breed  of point guard , one that UMass has not seen in some time. Listed at a generous 5’9, he is extremely quick and plays with a lot of intensity. He is not afraid to shoot the ball rather than pass it. He reminds me of a young Drew Lavender, a short point guard who isn’t afraid to shoot the ball or drive it to the basket. Correia has the experience while Traynham has the upside, so it will be interesting to see who gets the majority of the playing time as the season progresses.

Hall of Fame Tip-Off

UMass kicks off their 2010-2011 campaign with six consecutive games in Western Massachusetts, with four games in Amherst, MA and two in Springfield, MA. The Minutemen will be taking part in the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament this year. As part of the Tip-Off tournament, UMass will take on Rider University at the Mullins Center on November 12 and then travel to the MassMutual Center in Springfield to face New Mexico State and TCU on November 20 and 22 respectively. UMass will close out the tournament at home against American International College on November 24.  The New Mexico State Aggies are the reigning Western Athletic Conference Champions and the only team in the Tip-Off tournament that played in the NCAA tournament last season.

Cancun in 2011!

UMass just announced that they will be taking part in the Cancun Governors Cup in December 2011. The tournament will feature six teams from around the country, including College of Charleston, Kansas State (No. 3 in the preseason Coaches poll), UMass, Rice, Southern Illinois and Utah. This will be the first time since 1999 that UMass has played outside of the United States.

Stay tuned for game previews, recaps and even some news from the recruiting trail.