UMass shocks Charlotte in A-10 tourney
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The University of Massachusetts snapped its Atlantic 10 Tournament losing streak and popped what was left of Charlotte's NCAA bubble hopes all in one shot Tuesday night.
Despite making just two of its last 19 shots, the No. 11-seeded Minutemen upset No. 6 Charlotte 59-56 in the first round of the tournament.
"That was a great college basketball game," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "Both teams competed and played really hard. Sometimes luck is better than skill. For us to came away with a victory is a testament to my team."
UMass (12-19), which had lost eight straight A-10 postseason games, will try to win its second in a row against No. 3 Richmond at 9 p.m. Friday in Atlantic City.
The 49ers (19-12), who lost seven of their last eight games, will hope for a National Invitation Tournament bid.
Listen to Matt Vautour's assessment of UMass's upset win over Charlotte
After UMass took a 54-51 lead on a Terrell Vinson jumper in the lane with 56 seconds left, Charlotte called time-out. But out of the break, the 49ers inadvertently put six players on the floor and as soon as they passed the ball inbounds they were called for a technical foul.
"You would think a guy with three undergraduate degrees and two graduate degrees could count to five," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "That was a huge play and ultimately it comes to me."
Kellogg said he was surprised.
"Strange things happen in college basketball," Kellogg said. "Maybe fate was on our side tonight."
Ricky Harris made both free throws to put the Minutemen up 56-51 and in control.
Gokhan Sirin hit a 3-pointer at the other end for the 49ers, but Harris answered with two more free throws with 20 seconds left to give UMass a 58-54 lead.
Sirin missed a three at the other end, but Phil Jones put back the rebound with 12 seconds left to cut the deficit to 58-56.
The Minutemen burned six seconds before Charlotte fouled Vinson. He made one of two free throws and UMass called time-out.
With only seven team fouls, Kellogg instructed his players to foul Dijuan Harris when he crossed half court to prevent a game-tying 3-pointer.
Gary Correia fouled with four seconds left and Dijuan Harris missed the front end of the one-and-one. Hashim "Big City" Bailey grabbed the rebound as the clock ran out and the Minutemen celebrated.
"We had a total team effort. We didn't shoot well or make all the plays," Kellogg said. "But we made the key plays we needed to make."
Ricky Harris led UMass with 24 points, while Sean Carter added seven points and seven rebounds.
An'Juan Wilderness led Charlotte with 11 points, all in the first half.
Led by a hot-shooting Ricky Harris, the Minutemen did not fall into their usual early hole. He scored 16 points before intermission to help UMass take a 31-29 lead at the break despite no points from Vinson or Freddie Riley.
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.
