Vinson became the 44th player in UMass history to score 1,000 points in his career.
UMass forward Terrell Vinson became the 44th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
DEKALB, Ill. — When Terrell Vinson missed his first two free throws of Saturday’s win over Northern Illinois, the senior forward left more than just points four and five of the day for the University of Massachusetts on the table.
Vinson entered Saturday’s contest needing just one point to become the 44th 1,000-point scorer in school history, and eventually got it six minutes later when he returned to the free throw line — and went two for two.
“It probably distracted my on my first two free throws,” Vinson said. “I missed both of them because I was thinking about getting to 1,000 points. It’s cool.”
Vinson is the second player to join the 1,000-point club this season, as Chaz Williams accomplished the feat earlier in the year.
“It’s a nice mark to make,” Vinson said.
Vinson averaged 9.6 points per game as a freshman, 6.5 as a sophomore and 9.9 as a junior. Entering Saturday, he was averaging 12.9, and finished the day with 10 points.
DAVIS RETURNS FROM INJURY
Freshman point guard Trey Davis, who missed the team’s Dec. 22 win over East Carolina with a tweaked left ankle, was forced into extra duty Saturday while starter Chaz Williams played a season-low 26 minutes because of foul trouble.
Davis played a career-high 13 minutes, including the final 8:38 of the first half when the Minutemen turned a six-point lead into a 13-point halftime advantage.
“I thought he played very well when he was in there,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “I’m starting to get more and more confidence in him as the season goes on.”
Davis favored the ankle in warmups, but dressed anyway.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play or not,” Davis said. “But when (Kellogg) called my name, the coaches told me to forget about (the ankle) and go out there and play.”
He was in visible pain after the game, but said he would ice the ankle on the trip back to Amherst, and planned to play on Jan. 2 against Miami (Ohio).
“I don’t want to miss any more games,” he said.
TEAM MAKES BRIEF RETURN TO WESTERN MASS
The Minutemen were scheduled to fly back to the east coast late Saturday night despite the fact that they play at Miami (Ohio) in just four days.
Kellogg said last week that he had had bad experiences staying on the road, and mentioned after the game that he thought the trip home would still allow his team to improve.
“We got the win, and we’re going to go home and try to improve on a short trip back home,” he said.
UMass is scheduled to arrive at Miami on Jan. 1.
ONE LINERS
Raphiael Putney was shut out for the second time this season, missing all three of his shot attempts in 19 minutes… Putney scored in every game he appeared in last season… Williams’ three assists were his second lowest total this season… He entered the game ranked seventh nationally in assists at 7.5 per game… By outrebounding the Minutemen 17-4 on the offensive glass, Northern Illinois was able to rack up 20 more field goal attempts in the game than UMass.