The Hawks held a 47-37 rebounding edge in the A-10 game.
Massachusetts' Sean Carter had eight rebounds in Saturday's 73-62 loss at Saint Joseph's. The Minutemen fell to 18-7 overall and 7-4 in the Atlantic 10.PHILADELPHIA - In a predictably rugged and physical men's basketball game, the University of Massachusetts was on the receiving end most of the time.
That was the story of Saturday night's 73-62 loss to Saint Joseph, a game that was nip-and-tuck until early in the second half.
At that point, the Hawks ran off 14 straight points for a 46-34 lead at Hagan Arena. UMass never recovered from that four-minute tailspin.
The Minutemen have been a streaky team all season. Long scoring runs have often served them well, and two such bursts helped them put St. Bonaventure away on Wednesday.
This time, they got a taste of their own medicine and fell to 18-7. They are 7-4 in the A-10.
Saint Joseph's owned the boards by a 47-37 margin, thanks largely to forward Halil Kanacevic's 15-rebound night.
"They beat us up pretty good on the boards. They got a lot of second-chance points, especially early,'' UMass coach Derek Kellogg said.
"When you're trying to press and speed up the game, those second-chance points will kill you.''
UMass was outscored 17-8 on second-chance points.
"Sometimes it's (physical) like that. We've got to play tougher and harder,'' said Jesse Morgan, who led UMass with 18 points.
UMass had beaten Saint Joseph's 71-62 in Amherst on Jan. 14. The Minutemen held Hawks' guard Carl Jones to four points in that game.
In the rematch, Jones scored 17 points. He had 13 in the first half.
Jones had been averaging 15.9 per game.
Fellow guard Langston Galloway scored 15. Forward Ronald Roberts had 14 with eight rebounds for Saint Joseph's (16-10, 6-5), which is 11-2 at home.
UMass shot 33.8 percent, and missed 15 of their first 18 tries on 3-pointers.
"In the second half, I thought we had about 10 open looks. In a position like that, you've got to make some baskets,'' Kellogg said.
"We had been converting plays like that. This time we didn't.''
Sean Carter had eight rebounds for the Minutemen, but this one belonged to the Hawks.
With Kanacevic avoiding box-outs and grabbing four early offensive rebounds, Saint Joseph's led 29-28 lead at halftime.
UMass played all but three minutes of the half without forward Raphiael Putney, who has been plagued by early foul trouble in road games.
Putney had 17 points against Saint Joseph's in January. He scored a quick basket to start the second half, but picked up his third foul soon afterward.
"That hurt, but we've got to play through things like that,'' said UMass point guard Chaz Williams, who had 10 assists and no turnovers but shot 5-for-14.
"It was just one of those nights for us. It's always about making a (defensive) top, and we didn't do it.
"We wound up trading baskets, and when you're losing, you can't do that.''
The Hawks were trailing 34-32 when they made their decisive 14-point run. Even after that deluge,UMass had a window of opportunity to get back in the game.
The Minutemen scored the next four points, and had five possessions in which to get closer. They came up empty each time.
Kanacevic was a teammate of UMass guard Williams at Hofstra, before both players transferred after the 2009-10 season.
The 6-foot-8 Hawks' sophomore menaced the Minutemen all night. Not only did he dominate the boards, he had six assists.
Morgan is averaging 20 points this year in two games in his Philadelphia hometown. He returns when UMass plays at Temple on Feb. 29.