1

J. Anthony Roberts

Javorn Farrell, top, of the University of Massachusetts, takes the ball strong to the rim over Garvey Young of Quinnipiac on Saturday at the Mullins Center. UMass won 72-67.

2

J. Anthony Roberts

Raphiael Putney, right, of the University of Massachusetts goes up for a shot over Zaid Hearst of Quinnipiac on Saturday at the Mullins Center. UMass won 72-67.

3

J. Anthony Roberts

Chaz Williams, right, of the University of Massachusetts applies defensive pressure on Dave Johnson of Quinnipiac on Saturday at the Mullins Center. UMass won 72-67.

AMHERST - With the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team trailing by four at halftime Saturday night, Minuteman sophomore point guard Chaz Williams pulled Terrell Vinson aside and challenged the junior forward to make an impact in the second half.

Vinson delivered. He scored five of his 13 points and three rebounds in the 18-0 run by UMass to start the second half en route to a 72-67 win over Quinnipiac.

"I told him at halftime he's got to step it up," Williams said. "Being the player that he is, he responded perfectly well, That was a different side of 'TV' tonight. He gave us a spark and the rest of the troops just followed."

Minuteman Coach Derek Kellogg agreed.

"It was exactly what we were looking for," Kellogg said. "He made a couple nice defensive plays and his presence really made a difference, That was one of the better games or at least halves that he's played in a long, long time."

Vinson, who scored in double figures in the first three games of the season had not reached 10 points again until Saturday.

"I was in a little bit of a funk. That definitely felt like the best game I played in a while," Vinson said.

BAY STATE SUCCESS - UMass is now 7-0 this season in games played in Massachusetts with those wins coming in four different buildings. In addition to being 4-0 at the Mullins Center, the Minutemen are 1-0 in the Curry Hicks Cage, Conte Forum and MassMutual Center.

NEXT UP - UMass (9-3) is off until it hosts Davidson (6-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Mullins Center. The Wildcats play Kansas at 9 p.m. Monday in Kansas City.

Davidson is 1-1 against Atlantic 10 teams, having defeated Richmond and lost to Charlotte.

MISCELLANEOUS - Freddie Riley's three free throws made and five attempted for the Minutemen were both career highs.

UMass senior Matt Hill did not suit up for the game with a knee injury which is not considered serious. Hill has appeared in just two games this season.

Former Minuteman Chris Kirkland (1997-2000) was among the 2,890 in attendance.

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.