Minutemen ramble over Grambling
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AMHERST - The absence of Ricky Harris was more of an opportunity than a problem for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team Friday night against one of the worst teams in Division I.
Junior Gary Correia and freshman Terrell Vinson took advantage of the extra minutes and shots as the Minutemen rolled past Grambling 81-58 at the Mullins Center.
Harris, the Minutemen's leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, suffered a sprained ankle when he landed on a foot in practice on Thursday. That injury followed minor knee surgery on Wednesday for freshman Freddie Riley, another guard and the team's third leading scorer at 9.6 points per game.
#Good game'
"I thought it was a good game for our team," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "We took care of business, really crashed the boards and played pretty good defense. I was really worried because we didn't have Ricky and we didn't have Freddie."
Harris gets eight days to heal as the Minutemen do not play again until Dec. 19 when they host Memphis at the TD Garden in Boston at 6 p.m.
"I think he'll be OK by Saturday," Kellogg said.
Correia's opportunities to be a hero have been limited this season and throughout his career. Entering Friday's game he had scored in double figures just once and had never started.
But Correia replaced Harris as the starting point guard and the Minutemen's most senior player and he made the most of his added minutes and responsibility.
With four minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the first half and the game tied 23-23, Anthony Gurley hit Correia at the top of the key. The junior knocked down a 3-pointer to put UMass ahead 26-23.
Lance Fuertado tried to answer with a 3-pointer, but missed and Correia snared the rebound and sent the outlet pass up the floor. David Gibbs found him in the same spot and Correia hit another 3 The back-to-back treys started a 10-0 UMass run that turned a briefly tight game into a comfortable one the rest of the way for the Minutemen (5-5).
Correia finished with 11 points, one shy of his career high.
"I was just trying to play within myself and within the offense," Correia said. "With Ricky not being around, Coach Kellogg wanted me to be a little more aggressive ... It was a good feeling that we came out on top and I could contribute the way I did."
Kellogg was pleased with his performance.
"G.C. gave us some experience. He brought some stability to the team. He's a good shooter and he's starting to get more confident," Kellogg said. "I think he's going to get more minutes as the season goes on or be more productive in the minutes he's playing."
Vinson (20 points, 11 rebounds) became the first of the Minutemen's much-ballyhooed freshman class to score 20 points or crack 10 rebounds. He was the first UMass rookie to score 20 since Jeff "Big Deli" Salovski did in February 2005, while his 11 boards were the most for a freshman since Rashaun Freeman had 18 in February 2004.
Fellow rookie Javorn Farrell, who had not practiced in two days with a groin injury, added 10 rebounds to go with six points in 11 minutes. Freshman Sampson Carter added 11 points and nine rebounds.
"We got some good play from our young kids. I think they're really growing and getting better," Kellogg said.
UMass had a 55-30 rebounding advantage over the Tigers (1-5).
NOTES - Former Minuteman Chris Lowe signed with the Springfield Armor on Friday, where he will join former teammates Maurice Maxwell and eventually Dante Milligan, who is currently sidelined with a broken nose.
Lowe was drafted by the Reno Bighorns, also of NBA Development League, but did not make that team.
To make room for Lowe, Springfield cut former Connecticut guard Craig Austrie.
Austrie originally committed to UMass, but chose not to become a Minuteman when former coach Steve Lappas was fired. His departure left both a scholarship and a need for a point guard that led to Lowe being signed by UMass.
"I'm just going to go in, play my game and try to help them get some wins," said Lowe, who attended Friday's UMass game.
Gurley's 10-game streak of scoring in double figures was snapped as he had just nine points.
Senior walk-on Lex Mongo had an assist on his 22nd birthday.
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.
