The Minutemen rallied to advance their record to 14-4.
UMass forward Raphiael Putney drives the lane against St Joseph's defender Ronald Roberts. Putney scored 17 points in the Minutemen's 71-62 win at the Mullins Center.AMHERST - This was the best one yet.
Down by 17 points with Saturday's game barely underway, the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team did more than keep its undefeated home record intact.
The 71-62 win over Saint Joseph's stamped the Minutemen as a team with staying power, and one that must be taken seriously by anyone who might have been hesitant.
"I was really proud of the way our guys responded,'' UMass coach Derek Kellogg said after the win before a season-high 4,616 at the Mullins Center.
"They kept their composure, and the defensive intensity was a constant after the early minutes. They seem to have a will to win.''
Junior forward Terrell Vinson has said the Minutemen are winning games that would have been lost in previous seasons.
"This was definitely one of those games,'' said Vinson, who scored 11 points with six rebounds.
Point guard Chaz Williams scored 22 points with seven assists and six rebounds for UMass (14-4, 3-1 Atlantic 10). Raphiel Putney had 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
Putney scored 13 points in the first half. The sophomore forward led UMass out of a 20-3 hole than existed after seven minutes.
In the second half, Williams took charge. His 5-for-14 shooting looks modest, but he was in the middle of almost all the big plays.
"Chaz' will to win this game was outstanding,'' Kellogg said.
"College basketball is predicated on point guards. Williams sure has the ability, but he also has some freedoms here,'' Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said.
"They now have a way of attacking through one guy. They are not the same team when he's not out there.''
The game started horribly for UMass. A 17-0 Saint Joseph's run made it 20-3.
"We didn't panic. There was a whole lot of basketball left,'' Williams said.
UMass answered with a 13-0 run that made it 20-16. The Minutemen took a 30-29 lead on Putney's runner in the lane, and led 33-32 at halftime.
When Jesse Morgan's line-drive 3-point shot popped straight up off the rim, and then fell through the basket, the Minutemen had a 56-47 lead with 7:25 left.
Saint Joseph's made it back within two, but with 2:02 left, Williams found Sean Carter under the basket for an uncontested dunk.
"Terrell was the (designated shooter, but Sean was open,'' Williams said.
The play seemed to stop Saint Joseph's in its tracks.
"We've been in places where you're battling back, and the other team dunks on you. It's demoralizing,'' said Carter, who had eight points and 10 rebounds.
UMass went 14 for 16 from the line, and is 40 of 47 in his last two games.
The home record is 10-0. That does not count a technically neutral-site win in Springfield.
The Minutemen are 8-1 since Dec. 6 after beating Saint Joseph's (12-6, 2-2), which had won seven of its last nine.
Martelli thought the difference was turnovers and offensive rebounds. Saint Joseph's coughed up the ball 16 times, with nine in the second half.
UMass shot 37.7 percent to the Hawks' 42.4, but made up for it with 15 offensive boards.
The Minutemen are at Duquesne and Richmond next week, when their development will be tested in unfriendly venues.
"It's time to recuperate, and then got out and battle on the road,'' Vinson said.