Harris saves UMass
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AMHERST - The only game that figured to be a easy win in the Atlantic 10 conference for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team did not turn out that way Wednesday night.
A driving bank shot in the lane by Ricky Harris with three seconds left saved the Minutemen from a disastrous loss as they escaped with a 78-76 win over lowly Fordham at the Mullins Center.
"Coach told me he wanted me to have the ball. I found a way to get open and hit a tough shot," said Harris, who admitted he was not trying to bank it. "It's a good win and a good start to our conference play. But I feel like we could do better."
The Minutemen led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but could not close out the struggling Rams (2-11, 0-1 A-10).
Three missed free throws in the last 65 seconds were almost costly, but when Harris missed his second with 49.3 seconds left the Minutemen led 76-71 and appeared to still be in control.
But Ram freshman standout Chris Gaston drove to the basket and laid the ball in despite being fouled by Terrell Vinson to cut the deficit to 76-73.
Gaston appeared to miss the free throw on purpose and the rebound went to Khiry Gordon, who fed Brenton Butler. The senior guard, who had torched UMass the whole game, did not hesitate and knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to tie the game at 76-76 with 35.5 seconds left.
Fordham tried to call time-out, but the referees did not notice and UMass brought the ball into the frontcourt.
Harris waited until the clock was under eight seconds before making his move on Lance Brown. Harris stopped in the lane to gain space and put the ball off the glass and in.
"I felt like I could get by him," Harris said. "He's a freshman and I'm a senior. I've got more experience than him and I just wanted to make a play.
Fordham tried a touchdown pass for a last shot, but Harris picked it off.
"We were fortunate to come away with a two-point win," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "That was the best I've seen Fordham play all year. It's immaturity when you get up by 13 and let a team claw their way back. We have to work on that and continue to get better."
UMass (7-7, 1-0 Atlantic 10) is back in action at 2 p.m. Sunday for its annual game in Springfield when it hosts La Salle at the MassMutual Center.
Harris, who moved into seventh place on the Minuteman career scoring list, led UMass with 21 points and six assists.
Anthony Gurley added 15 points and five rebounds.
Butler finished with 31 points for the Rams, while Gaston added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Hashim "Big City" Bailey turned in another productive game for the Minutemen with nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
"Him coming up with those offensive rebounds and defensively I thought he helped us tremendously," Kellogg said. "He had nine points and 13 rebounds in 14 minutes. Imagine if he got in shape."
The biggest of those 13 boards came with 5:27 remaining and UMass leading 68-65. Bailey dove on the floor to save a miss by Terrell Vinson and fed Freddie Riley from a prone position. The freshman guard knocked down a 3-pointer to keep UMass in control.
"That was a game-winning play," Bailey said. "I try to go hard every time I touch the floor."
But the Rams kept attacking to set up the final sequence.
"We kind of took the pressure off them. They made a good run and tied the score up," Harris said. "We had to pick our game back up."
NOTE: Former Minuteman Tony Gaffney was among the 3,557 fans in attendance. Gaffney, who was injured playing in Israel, is healthy again and has gotten some interest from NBA teams for a potential 10-day contract.
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.
