AMHERST - Gary Forbes has been a regular on the all-star exhibition circuit during the NBA lockout, but the former University of Massachusetts wing stopped by his alma mater Monday night.

Forbes said he's faithfully kept track of his former team, which beat Northeastern 83-67 at the Mullins Center.

"I'm always contacting Chaz (Williams), Raphiael Putney and Matt Hill via Twitter or text messages," said Forbes, who was tweeting updates to former teammate Ricky Harris in Germany during the game. "Guys ask me advice and stuff like that. I love this school and everything it stands for. I love to see these guys be successful."

Forbes, who was a rookie for the Denver Nuggets last year, said he didn't want to talk about any of the specifics about the lockout, but said he's been keeping in shape.

"I've been working out in Los Angeles. A lot of guys have been playing out there. It's been good. I've been staying in shape getting ready if I go overseas or if the season starts," said Forbes, who is trusting his agent to find him a job if the lockout continues. "I'm leaving that up to my agent. He's working hard to put me in a good situation to make good money and be successful."

With rumors of the lockout looming last year he was careful with his money.

"I'm a smart dude. I got a degree from here," Forbes said. "I know to save my money. I made some good investments and some good decisions. I'm all right. ... I've never been through a lockout before, but my teammate Al Harrington went through it in 1998. He told me how to be prepared. As a veteran he gave me good advice."

SHARING THE BALL - The Minutemen had 22 assists on 28 baskets, a direct result of sharing the ball more in the new offense. In addition to Williams' 10 assists, Javorn Farrell and Sampson Carter had four each.

Carter said Williams is the catalyst.

"Since I came here we've never had someone like him. When he first got here I told him he was an angel," Carter said. "We had a lot of swingmen and scorers, but didn't really have the right person to distribute the ball. We've got somebody that can make our job easier that can get us easy buckets around the rim."

The flip side of that was 20 turnovers. UMass coach Derek Kellogg said the tempo would lead to more turnovers, but he wasn't happy with the type of giveaways his team committed.

"Quite a few of them were sloppy and unforced, driving the ball to places where there was nothing there," he said.

FOULS - Sean Carter, Cady Lalanne and Jesse Morgan each fouled out for UMass as did Joel Smith for Northeastern. Eleven different players had three fouls or more. There's no such thing as an intentional foul any more in college basketball as the NCAA switched to using "flagrant one" and "flagrant two" like the NBA. Freshman Maxie Esho was whistled for a flagrant one after attempting a block coming back on a fast break. A flagrant one gives the opponent two shots and the ball. A flagrant two also comes with an ejection.

NEXT UP - UMass will face New Jersey Tech, Thursday at 7 p.m. The Highlanders are 1-1. They lost to Manhattan Saturday and beat Penn State-Abington, a non-Division I school, Monday.

BAY STATE - The game was the first of back-to-back Mondays against Boston teams. The Minutemen will play at Boston College on Nov. 21. They could add a third Beanpot team to their slate on Nov. 25 if they face Harvard in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

MISCELLANEOUS - Kellogg said Putney, who missed the game with injuries, was expected back Thursday. Senior reserve big man Trey Lang (knee tendonitis) has yet to dress for a game.