Chaz Williams scores 29 to lead UMass men's basketball over Xavier
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AMHERST - Chaz Williams' resume of big-game performances nearly mirrors the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team's list of wins. The sophomore point guard transfer from Hofstra has been a huge ingredient in the Minutemen's success this season.
But in Tuesday's 80-73 win over Xavier at the Mullins Center, Williams raised his game to a level he had not previously reached. The Musketeers' backcourt of Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons came in with the well-deserved reputation as the Atlantic 10's best, but Williams was the top player on the floor.
Williams, who had a career-high 29 points and nine assists, impressed Xavier coach Chris Mack who expected him to be good.
"He completely dominated the game," Mack said. "He's a dynamo with the ball. He gets anywhere he wants. He's unselfish. He can shoot. Most diminutive point guards can't shoot a lick outside of 6 feet.
"He's a really good player," Mack continued. "I don't know if there's any other point guard we faced that had a better game against us this year."
Williams ditched his signature headband for the game and that seemed to improve his shooting ability. He made six-of-eight 3-point attempts, including two big ones down the stretch.
"I was just trying to find open spots and take open shots and make them," Williams said. "When we make those shots, we're a different team, and when we're missing shots, we're a totally different team. So just making open shots for my teammates and doing whatever they need me to do is what I was trying to do tonight."
With 7 minutes, 32 seconds left in the game, a basket by Lyons cut a once 20-point lead for UMass down to 61-53. But Williams answered with a 3-pointer that brought the crowd of 6,632 to its feet. Terrell Vinson followed with a baseline drive to push the lead back to 66-53.
But the Musketeers kept attacking. After a basket by Kenny Frease, Lyons cut the lead to eight again with a 3-pointer. And again it was Williams who hit another 3 to make the score 69-58 with 3:54 left, and that was the knockout blow.
UMass (19-8, 8-5 Atlantic 10) made enough free throws after that to hold on.
"That was a big-time game. He made 3s and knocked down shots," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "He looked confident out there. He really came to play.
"He made free throws, he made shots, and I really think his defense was about as good as its been all year," Kellogg added. "That's something I've been on him about because I think he can become a better defender and a real pest on the defensive end of the floor."
The Minutemen have built their strong season on taking big leads and then surviving late charges. However, most of those escape acts came against lesser opponents.
On Tuesday, UMass got key contributions from several players to hold off Xavier (17-10, 8-5 A-10), which had been ranked as high as No. 8 this season. Raphiael Putney had 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Vinson (eight rebounds) and Freddie Riley each had 12 points.
But Riley's biggest contribution came on defense as he played a big part in holding Holloway, who came into the game averaging 17.3 points, to just 10.
"He's the best player on the team and one of the best point guards in the conference, so my biggest focus when I got in the game was to just control him as much as I could," Riley said. "I did a better job than I thought I was going to do, but I was just trying to keep him from having a big game and it worked.
"Jesse Morgan also did a good job on him, too," Riley added. "I feel pretty good about this performance, mainly because of the way I played defense. I usually don't worry about offense too much anymore. I just try to play the best defense that I can play, and tonight it paid off."
Dezmine Wells led the Musketeers with 19 points.
Mack admitted that the loss dealt a blow to his team's chances for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"It was disappointing, because I thought we were in position to start to cement an at-large bid," Mack said. "We have to get back to work and try to finish strong."
Kellogg said he thought it was a signature win for his team.
"There's been many times in the UMass program (recently) that we've really had the opportunity to seize the day. It's kind of slipped through the cracks a few times," Kellogg said. "I thought tonight was one more opportunity for the program to play well, have a signature team come in, and have a nice fan base.
"That's kind of what I've envisioned since I've come here - a night like this," he added. "... It's nice that it came together and we got a big-time win."
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.
