The road hasn't been kind to UMass all season long as point guard Chaz Williams has struggled to keep the high-flying Minutemen offense engage away from Amherst. After his worst game of the season Wednesday, Williams seemed to have figured it out, at least temporarily.
The sophomore point guard filled up the stat sheet with 17 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists in UMass' (15-5, 4-2 Atlantic 10) 78-69 victory over Richmond (11-9, 2-3 A10). Williams even knocked down all 10 of his free throw attempts, helping the Minutemen to a highly efficient 18-of-21 (85 percent) and the team to their first road win in Atlantic 10 play (1-2).
Sophomore guard Jesse Morgan added a team-high 20 points, as he recovered from an eight turnover performance at Duquesne. Senior center Sean Carter chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds and freshmen Maxie Esho piled in 12 points and five rebounds off the bench.
UMass continued to struggle from behind the arc on the road, hitting just 4-of-13 (30 percent) shots, but did manage to limit themselves to just 13 turnovers. The Minutemen controlled the paint with a 42-33 rebounding advantage and connected on 48 percent (28-58) of their shots.
Four Spiders finished in double figures with guards Darien Brothers and Kendall Anthony leading the way with 12 points apiece. Point guard Cedrick Lindsay returned from an injury to score 11 points and added three points and three rebounds in 30 minutes of play.
Richmond shot just 31.7 percent (19-60) from the field and struggled from behind the arc. Despite leading the conference in 3-point made baskets per game with 8.3 made per game, the Spiders only managed four on 23 attempts (17 percent).
UMass held the lead for all but a minute of game play as they virtually controlled the game from the opening tip. The first half saw the Minutemen lead by as many as seven but Richmond kept the game within reach from the free throw line (11-of-14).
In the second half UMass wore down the Spiders, opening up their first double-digit lead of the game with 17:36 remaining (42-31). Richmond would get to within two (49-47) but UMass responded with an 8-2 run and they would cruise from their.
UMass is back in action next Saturday afternoon when they host the St. Louis Billikens at 2p.m. with their 10-0 home mark on the line.