Derek Kellogg hopes close games benefit men's basketball team
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SPRINGFIELD - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team has been in three straight nail-biters after the first eight games were decided by an average of 22.4 points per game.
UMass beat Siena 82-78 in the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at the MassMutual Center Friday night.
UMass coach Derek Kellogg hoped the close game experience would be valuable down the road.
"I think it's definitely been a learning experience, since we lost the one in Miami. I felt we made some mistakes down the stretch," Kellogg said. "I thought we did a pretty good job this evening of getting it close and then making some free throws. I thought Siena played close to as good as they can play."
Sophomore Chaz Williams said the Minutemen practice close game situations in practice, but it's hard to simulate the atmosphere. Failing or succeeding in practice might mean the difference between having to sprint or not.
"It's nothing compared to a loss or a victory," Williams said. "We got a lot of experience from it. We know the things we can do to succeed in close games. That's something you have to work on and that's something we have been working on with Coach."
RILEY HOT AGAIN - After scoring 14 points in the first half of Tuesday's win at East Carolina, Freddie Riley barely played in the second half as Kellogg opted for more defense with a big lead. Riley started sharp again Friday with 11 first-half points and Kellogg rewarded him with 17 second-half minutes. Riley finished with 20 points. It was his first 20-point game of the season and the third of his career.
NEXT UP - The Minutemen (8-3) are off for eight days before hosting Quinnipiac on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center. The Bobcats are 4-4 after back-to-back wins over Hartford and Byrant. They are at Vermont on Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS - UMass is 6-0 in Massachusetts with games played in Chestnut Hill, Amherst and Springfield. ... Sean Carter's first-basket-of-the-game streak was snapped as Terrell Vinson scored the Minutemen's first points on a pair of free throws. Carter had scored the first basket in each of the last four games.
FORBES TO TORONTO? - Former Minuteman Gary Forbes, who played for the Denver Nuggets last season, signed a three-year offer sheet to join the Toronto Raptors, according to Yahoo Sports. The offer could be matched by the Nuggets.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
