American International did everything it could to slow down the Massachusetts men's basketball last night at the Mullins Center in exhibition play. But The Minutemen outlasted and outran AIC for a 103-66 victory.
UMass finishes its exhibition schedule Saturday against Concordia at the Curry Hicks Cage.
"We got off to a slow start tonight, but it didn't really concern me," Ford said. "I knew we'd hit our spurt at some point."
UMass coach Travis Ford - intent on showing off his team's fast-paced style of basketball - encouraged his Minutemen to push the ball up the court. The team took every advantage of fast break opportunities - with the intention of creating open 3-point shots.
In the second half, the team focused on turning defensive rebounds and AIC turnovers into easy baskets underneath the hoop.
Ford acknowledges that his team won't command the front court as it did last season and will rely on a fast-paced style of play and strong shooting ability to win games.
"We're not a physical basketball team and it showed on the rebounding end tonight," Ford said. "We didn't play nearly as fast as I wanted to. And we actually didn't shoot the ball as well as we've been shooting it."
With seven freshmen added to this year's squad, it was also the first chance for Ford to experiment with different combinations on the court.
"It confused me I didn't really get a good look at guys," Ford said about his frequent substitutions. "I wanted to play everybody, but I really couldn't do it. Saturday night I'll stick with some rotations and see what looks good. [Tonight] I was shuffling too many guys in and out."
AIC kept the score close through the first 13 minutes, as the Minutemen struggled to make their 3-point attempts - at that point, shooting 29 percent.
But once the UMass 3-point threats started to get hot, the Yellow Jackets simply couldn't keep pace. The Maroon and White ended the first half with 18 total 3-point attempts, making seven.
Starting shooting guard Ricky Harris shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range and made several transition lay-ups. The sophomore paced the Minutemen with 25 points and five steals.
From downtown
At Midnight Madness a few weeks ago, Ford said that his team would shoot a lot of 3-pointers this season.
If last night's exhibition is any indication, that may be an understatement.
The Minutemen hoisted up 18 shots from beyond the arc in the first half alone and finished the contest with 35 attempts. They hit on 14 of them, good for 40 percent. Both Forbes and Max Groebe came out strong, as the pair hit on its first two tries. Ricky Harris was cold to start, but his shot began to fall as he connected on 5-of-10 from deep.
"Our three-point shot can be a very demoralizing weapon at times," Ford said after the game.
Just about everyone who played shot at least once from the perimeter, with seven of the 11 players who attempted a 3-pointer connecting at least once.
Game trends
Ford had his team play pressure defense, using a full-court press for much of the game. The strategy paid off, as the defense forced the Yellow Jackets into 13 turnovers in each half. Many of those turnovers resulted in quick and easy UMass baskets.
Chris Lowe had a strong exhibition performance for the Minutemen running the point, driving into the lane and finding the open teammate. He played at a fast pace for much of the game, giving the Yellow Jackets problems defending the up-tempo UMass offense. Lowe led all players with eight assists, and the team finished with 26 on the night - compared to 11 turnovers.
Harris was equally as impressive, exploding for 25 points - with 14 coming in the second half. He anticipated Yellow Jacket passes all game long, coming up with five steals and two easy breakaway baskets … All five starters scored in double figures, as did Groebe, who scored 11 off the bench … Dante Milligan was elbowed in the face early in the second half and remained down for a minute before Ford helped him up. He appeared fine, just shaken up, and retuned to action … Papa Lo drew huge ovations for an emphatic block midway through the second half … Eleven different Minutemen scored in the game … Sedale Jones was the only eligible player who did not play in the exhibition. Jones recently became eligible after his paperwork was approved by the NCAA.
Michael King and Eli Rosenswaike can be reached at sports@dailycollegian.com.
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