AMHERST, Mass. – The La Salle men's basketball team suffered an 80-74 setback inside the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon, falling to the UMass Minutemen in Atlantic 10 action.
 
The loss pushes La Salle to 7-17 on the year, 2-12 in conference play. UMass moves to 12-13 while holding a 5-8 tally in A-10 action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Back-to-back treys from Jack Clark and Jhamir Brickus got the Explorer offense going early, combining for the first 11 points for La Salle to give the team an early 11-8 lead.
• Just moments later, the Minutemen began a run that would extend to 18-3, scoring 11 straight to take a 26-13 lead before Anwar Gill knocked down a triple from the wing to stop the bleeding.
• With UMass extending the lead to as much as 17, the Explorers were able to trim the deficit to 12 after Brickus knocked down his second triple following a second chance possession. The score held into the break, the Minutemen with a 40-28 advantage.
• Stemming the tide to end the break, the Explorers were able to create some momentum of their own to open the second. A Josh Nickelberry triple started things off, capping off a 10-2 run with another effort from deep to cut the deficit to four just three minutes into the break.
• Clark tied the game up at 48 apiece, countered by a Minuteman three on the other end. Another triple from Christian Ray again equaled the score before UMass' Greg Jones buried two treys on straight possessions to quickly regain a six point advantage.
• Despite all attempts for the Explorers to make their way back into it, the hosts seemingly had an answer for every question asked down the stretch.
• Trailing seven, Clifton Moore drove the baseline and fought contact as he dropped in the basket, securing the and-one to cut the UMass lead to four with 39.9 seconds.
• The Minutemen defense and free throw shooting was enough to keep the hosts out of danger the rest of the way, able to escape with an 80-74 victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Brickus and Clark led the way for the Explorers with 18 points apiece, combining for 12-22 from the field. Brickus tallied team-highs in rebounds (6) and assists (6), but fell victim to seven turnovers over the course of the game. Clark added four steals to his game, the second time in three tries he hit his career best.
• Entering the game ranked 5^th in A-10 play in scoring, Moore was all but neutralized in the opening half after going 0-4 and grabbing just one board. However, the redshirt senior finished just a point off his average, tallying 16 second half points on 6-8 shooting, finishing with four assists and two steals to go along with his four rebounds.
• Nickelberry finished as the fourth Explorer in double-digits with 10 points.
• The Explorers lost the turnover battle 18-10, UMass scoring 23 points off turnovers compared to La Salle's six.
• La Salle finished 26-56 from the field, knocking down 46.4% of its attempts. Massachusetts ended 25-56 from the field for 44.6%, connecting on 23-27 free throw attempts.
• C.J. Kelly led the way for the Minutemen with 18 points and eight rebounds, both team-highs.

 
UP NEXT

• The Explorers cap off a four-game road swing when they head to the Bronx on Wednesday, February 23. Tip is slated for 7 p.m.