It was the Chaz Williams show all half long for the Minutemen. The 5-10 point guard who at first glance looks like the younger brother tagging along with the big kids, left the crowd gasping even when he was unable to connect on his shots. Williams finished with five points and seven assists in the first half consistently finding open UMass teammates along the arc and weaving his way brilliantly into the lane, to help the Minutemen to a 40-28 halftime lead over Northeastern.
UMass jumped out to a 5-0 lead and went on a 14-0 run over a five minute span to open up a 19-4 lead. Northeastern cut the deficit to as few as nine behind freshmen Reggie Spencer’s seven points and co-captain Jonathan Lee’s six points.
Junior Terrell Vinson who was inserted into the starting lineup after coming off the bench Friday for UMass, led all players with 10 points including two 3-pointers.
The Huskies went 0-6 in the half from behind the arc and shot just 37 percent, a full 20 percent lower than the Minutemen (57 percent).