AMHERST - Moments after Saturday's game ended, the rain - which had ranged from drizzly to steady all afternoon - seemed to erupt into a downpour that sent the fans remaining from the McGuirk Stadium crowd of 4,028 scattering for the exits and the dry safety of their vehicles.

The University of Massachusetts football players trudged off the field dejected, after a winnable game and any last playoff hopes had slipped away in a 17-14 loss to James Madison.

The Minutemen's senior-day loss, their first at home this season, left them 5-5 (3-4 Colonial Athletic Association). Their final game at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Hofstra will determine whether 2009 goes into the record books as winning or losing season.

"Coming into the season we had expectations. That's the most disappointing thing," senior captain Jeromy Miles said. "Sometimes that's the way the ball rolls."

UMass had the ball and a chance to tie or go ahead in the game with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining in regulation, starting from its own 28-yard line with no time-outs. On first-down, quarterback Kyle Havens hit Tony Nelson with a 16-yard pass and the senior tailback got out of bounds to stop the clock.

After Havens' next first-down pass to Joe Sanford fell short, the quarterback fumbled the second-down snap and was forced to fall on the ball to keep possession. That left the Minutemen facing third-and-16 with the clock running. A third-down pass to Nelson gained nine yards,

On fourth down, Havens rolled right and connected with Jeremy Horne, but he caught the ball out of bounds and the Minutemen turned it over on downs to end the game.

Nelson's final home game produced his 11th career contest of 100 or more rushing yards. He carried the ball 18 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. But his two first-quarter fumbles which led to a field goal and a touchdown by the Dukes (5-5, 3-4 CAA) will likely be his lasting memory from the game.

UMass forced a punt on James Madison's opening drive, and Mike Goff landed his kick at the Minuteman 2-yard line. Nelson could not hold onto the ball on the first play run by the Minutemen and Scotty McGee recovered the ball for the Dukes at the UMass 6.

The defense held again, forcing James Madison to settle for a 20-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with seven minutes left in the first quarter.

The Dukes got the ball back again quickly as Havens (10-for-20 for 88 yards) threw his 15th interception of the season. But James Madison could not capitalize as the Minuteman defense responded and forced another punt.

But Jamaris Sanders scooped up Nelson's second fumble and ran it in for a Dukes' touchdown that made the score 10-0 after the first quarter.

Jonathan Hernandez returned to the lineup for UMass after missing its 37-7 win over Northeastern on Nov. 7. He put the Minutemen on the board six seconds into the second quarter with a 16-yard touchdown run that the score 10-7.

James Madison freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe stretched the lead back to 10 points with a 21-yard TD run that put the Dukes ahead 17-7 at halftime.

Nelson found some rhythm in the second half when he rushed for 89 yards, including a six-yard touchdown with 3:25 left in the third quarter. But UMass never got within range of a potential game-tying field goal try.

Late in the game, the Minutemen drove to the James Madison 39-yard line, but the drive stalled there on fourth-and-three. UMass coach Kevin Morris, who had all his time-outs remaining, chose to punt. Caleb Violette booted the ball into the end zone.

"We decided to try to pin them in deep. The defense was playing well," Morris said.

The decision looked like a good idea at first when the Dukes' first two plays produced minus-two yards. But on third down Thorpe lofted a 42-yard pass to Rockeed McCarter, moving the ball to the Minuteman 39.

While James Madison did not turn the play into points, it forced UMass to use all three time-outs and left the Minutemen with poor field position for their final drive.

"It was certainly a disappointing loss," Morris said. "In the end we weren't able to overcome those early turnovers to win the ball game."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.