The junior guard played despite a bothersome ankle injury.
UMass guard Chaz Wiliams gets tangled up wiith Ronald Roberts of Saint Joseph's in the first half of the Minutemen's 71-62 win on Saturday.AMHERST - Once University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg decided Javorn Farrell could play, the junior guard had no restrictions.
"If you're playing, you're playing. If you're not, you're not,'' Kellogg said after UMass' 71-62 win over Saint Joseph's at the Mullins Center.
"There is no middle ground.''
Bothered by an ankle injury suffered against Charlotte Wednesday, Farrell played 16 minutes.
He did not score, but defense is his strong point. The minutes were precious for UMass, which has lost two players to injuries and is down to a playing rotation of eight.
"Javorn didn't practice at all on Friday. He showed a lot of heart and toughness by playing,'' UMass guard Chaz Williams said.
About an hour before gametime, Farrell was deemed available. Nicknamed "The Junkyard Dog'' for his scrappy play, he had three assists and two steals.
GOOD DEFENSE: UMass held Carl Jones to four points on 2-for-12 shooting. Langston Galloway scored eight.
The two Saint Joseph's guards had been averaging 18 and 16.4 points, respectively.
Kellogg praised Freddie Riley and Jesse Morgan, who compensated for 4-for-16 shooting by contributing at the defensive end.
With Riley, "it's about him buying into defense and learning how to play it,'' Kellogg said.
"Most of it is effort, getting through screens and playing tough. Freddie wants to do the right thing to help us win.''
STREAKING: UMass gave up 17 straight first-half points, then answered with 13 in a row of its own.
"They were down by 26 and La Salle and got within five. We're more a possession team; they're a team that plays spurt basketball,'' Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said.
HOME HAPPINESS: UMass' 10-0 start at home is its best since an 11-0 home record in 1992-93, when the team moved from Curry Hicks Cage to the Mullins Center in Feburary.
With a schedule heavy on showcase neutral-site games, UMass played only eight home games during its 26-0 start in 1995-96. A late-season loss to George Washington ended the home streak.
ET CETERA: UMass moved up to No. 57 in the RPI power ratings with the win ... UMass center Sean Carter got a big hand after taking a mop to the floor himself and cleaning off some perspiration in the second half ... Former UMass stars Carmelo Travieso, Tyrone Weeks and Chris Kirkland were in attendance.