SB Nation Boston - UMass Uses Big Second Half To Blow Away Elon: UMass 85, Elon 67https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2011-11-11T23:49:23-05:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/23199572011-11-11T23:49:23-05:002011-11-11T23:49:23-05:00Minutemen Cruise 85-67 Over Elon
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<p>After a poor showing in their first twenty minutes of the season, Chaz Williams and crew put away Elon with a big run to begin the half in their 85-67 victory. Returning to the Curry Hicks Cage for just the second time in 18 years, a trio of Minutemen combined for 52 of the team’s 85 points as UMass extended its win streak to 18 at their former home.</p>
<p>Williams, one of the five new faces on a Minutemen roster that features just two seniors proved worthy of all the praise he’s gotten over the past 12 months on campus. The Hofstra transfer led the squad with 18 points, eight assists and even added six rebounds despite his diminutive size. Listed at just 5-9, Williams proved adept all over the court leading the team to 12 points on the fast break and earned five free throw attempts for his work in the lane.</p>
<p> "There’s nothing like it [playing with Chaz Williams]," forward Sampson Carter said. "He ups the tempo and when he’s out we all just follow, he’s our pitbull."</p>
<p>"He [Williams]'s played better than he’s been practicing," UMass head coach Derek Kellogg said. "He’s been a little complacent over the past four or five days but over the past two days it was really nice to see him step his game up for the game: to have a guy who can break some defenses down and make some plays."</p>
<p>Carter and fellow junior Terrell Vinson finished with 17 points apiece and combined for 18 of the team’s 41 rebounds. 16 of Carter’s points came in the second half as he helped spark an early run in the half to put away Elon. Vinson led all players with 11 rebounds including four offensive boards.</p>
<p>"My hat goes off to Terrell he’s been unbelievable this year," Kellogg said. "Whatever I need him to do: if I don’t start him, he doesn’t start, he plays whatever and his attitude this year is really what’s separated him. That’s why I think he’s playing the way he has. In practice he’s been one of the top three guys every day."</p>
<p>In the first half, Elon stayed in the game behind some hot shooting and poor decision making by UMass. Frustrated by their own poor shooting, the Minutemen were called for some sloppy fouls and failed to look comfortable in their new fast paced offense.</p>
<p>"I thought we had a few chances in the first half that we didn’t take advantage of," Kellogg said. "We got out and turned the ball over, we missed some shots. I was hoping that our guys would stay the course and do the same thing in the second half."</p>
<p>Elon was led by sophomore forward Lucas Troutman who poured in 15 points. Leading returning scorer Drew Spradlin managed 14 and freshmen Austin Hamilton added 12 points and seven turnovers in his collegiate debut.</p>
<p>UMass put away the Phoenix by forcing 25 turnovers and dominating the paint. The Minutemen scored 36 points off turnovers and nearly as many in the paint against their overmatched competition from the Southern Conference.</p>
<p>"It was a good team effort, I’m hoping that we can continue to play a lot of guys and we can try to wear some teams down," UMass head coach Derek Kellogg said.</p>
<p>The game was unfortunately highlighted by shoulder injuries to key starters for each team. Redshirt sophomore forward Raphiael Putney played just six minutes before getting tangled up with an Elon player. Putney lay on the floor for several minutes and finally got up holding his shoulder. His return was deemed doutbful at halftime and Kellogg sat him for the entire second half with the injury.</p>
<p>Elon sharp-shooter Jack Isenbarger had to have his left shoulder popped back in after he was injured early on in the second half. The junior and second leading returner scorer from a year ago managed to play for just 19 minutes and scored 3 points on one of nine shooting.</p>
<p>UMass will next be in action Monday when they host in-state rivals Northeastern at 7PM at the Mullins Center.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2011/11/11/2556082/minutemen-cruise-85-67-over-elonorenskys2011-11-11T22:25:31-05:002011-11-11T22:25:31-05:00UMass Vs. Elon Halftime Update: 43-39 Elon Surprises
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<p>After taking the Minutemen’s initial punch, the Elon Phoenix grabbed a 43-39 halftime lead at the Curry Hicks Cage.</p>
<p>UMass led by as many as eight points in the first half but hurt themselves with silly fouls, ice-cold shooting from behind the arc and stretches of stagnant offense. Chaz Williams led the squad with 10 points and four assists in the first half but the rest of the squad failed to impress. Red-shirt senior Sean Carter finished a fast break with a big dunk only to be called for a technical foul for slapping the backboard forcing him to sit for the rest of the half.</p>
<p>On the other side Elon hit five threes and hit over 80 percent of their threes to give the squad a lead. Terrell Vinson led the squad with seven points and five rebounds.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2011/11/11/2555937/umass-vs-elon-halftime-update-43-39-elon-surprisesorenskys2011-11-11T17:20:28-05:002011-11-11T17:20:28-05:00UMass Vs. Elon: Minutemen Host Phoenix At Curry Hicks Cage
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<p>Chaz Williams and the UMass Minutemen return to their old home gm, Curry Hicks Cage, to host Elon in the season opener in Amherst on Friday night.</p> <p><b>By </b><a target="_blank" href="http://boston.sbnation.com/authors/seth-orensky"><b>Seth Orensky</b></a><b>, Contributor.</b></p>
<p><i>UMass hosts Elon in the season opener at Curry Hicks Cage in Amherst, MA.</i></p>
<p><b>Event:</b> <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/umass-minutemen">UMass Minutemen</a> vs. Elon University Phoenix.</p>
<p><b>Date/Time:</b> Friday, November 11, 2011-9p.m. EDT.</p>
<p><b>Location:</b> Curry Hicks Cage (Capacity: 5,000+), Amherst, MA.</p>
<p><b>Broadcast Info: </b>The season opener for these teams will be broadcast live on WBIN-TV Boston with JoshMaurer and Tim Kenney on the call. A radio broadcast of the game will also be available from Adam Frenier and Tim Collins on 1510 AM The Zone in Eastern Massachusetts.</p>
<p><b>All Time Series: </b>This is the first ever matchup between UMass and Elon University a member of theSouthern Conference. Both teams are entering their 103rd season of play.</p>
<p><b>Storyline:</b> Eager to forget a disappointing finish to the 2010-11 season, UMass and their new looksquad will look to return to their roots when they host Elon University at the historic Curry Hicks Cage.Sophomore point guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100275/chaz-williams">Chaz Williams</a> will lead the Minutemen into Curry Hicks Cage for just the secondtime since 1993 when the team moved to the Mullins Center.</p>
<p>A year after opening the season 7-0, head coach Derek Kellogg looks to prove his remodeled roster and new style of play will be enough to help the squad to their first winning season in four years. The experiment begins tonight as the Minutemen look to win their eight season opener in nine years andextend their winning streak at their former home to 16 games.</p>
<p>With red-shirt senior <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/30284/anthony-gurley">Anthony Gurley</a> the team's leading scorer from a year ago graduating, Kellogg hopes that a faster pace will open up more opportunities for his offense and not put pressure on anyone player to try to take on the scoring load.</p>
<p>Hofstra transfer and former Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Chaz Williams will beresponsible for leading Kellogg's new fast paced style of offense that is in stark contrast to past season'slooks. After going years without a true point guard in Amherst, Williams will lead a squad that returns allbut two players.</p>
<p>Things could be looking up for Elon after finishing with a losing record for the 11th season in 12 years.Despite being selected to finish fifth in the North Division of the Southern Conference Preseason Poll, everyone but leading scorer <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/29219/chris-long">Chris Long</a> is back from a team that finished last year with a 0 pointdifferential (2301-2301).</p>
<p>Expect the Phoenix to try to keep the game close on the strength of their 3-point shooting. Last seasonthey were fourth in the nation in 3-point shooting averaging 9.2 made threes per game. Guards <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53516/drew-spradlin">Drew Spradlin</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123502/jack-isenbarger">Jack Isenbarger</a>, the team's leading returning scorers from a year ago, combined to hit 117of the team's 285 threes.</p>
<p>Ironically the last season opener held at the Curry Hicks Cage also involved head coach Derek Kellogg.The junior guard scored the first basket of the game in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette. He also led theteam back to the cage for the first time since 1993 with a comeback win over Rider last season. UMass played all of their home games at the venue from 1931-32 to January of 1993 excluding the 1984-85season.</p>
<p><b>Players to Watch:</b> Chaz Williams is the player everyone has talked about all offseason when speakingabout UMass. After spending a year practicing with the squad, Williams will be inserted into the starting lineup and easily will be the team's most valuable if not best overall player.</p>
<p>Freshmen Cady LaLanne was named to the All-Rookie team in the Atlantic 10 after sitting out lastseason. Listed at 6-9, 250, LaLanne is the biggest player on the roster and will look to have his way with a much smaller Elon squad.<br>Drew Spradlin is the lone senior on the Elon roster and was named to the Southern ConferencePreseason Team for the second consecutive season. He's not only the team's leading returning scorer but ranked among the top four in assists and rebounds and will be expected to do even more this year.</p>
<p><b>Prediction:</b> With so much anticipation for this season and the venue, UMass will breeze by Elon with the game potentially getting out of hand early, if the Phoenix are unable to hit their 3-point shots. <b>Final Score: UMass 80, Elon 61.</b></p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-college-eagles/2011/11/11/2555365/umass-vs-elon-basketball-preview-chaz-williams-atlantic-10Gethin Coolbaugh