Springfield, MA (Sports Network) - Terrell Vinson poured in a career-high 22
points and Chaz Williams scored 20, as the Massachusetts Minutemen notched a
78-73 overtime win against the Elon Phoenix at the MassMutual Center.
Vinson went 13-of-14 at the free-throw line, while Williams doled out a game-
high nine assists. Sampson Carter recorded a double-double with 13 points and
11 rebounds to help the Minutemen (5-3) to their third win over the last four
outings.
Jack Isenbarger led the way with 22 points for the Phoenix (6-4), who will
visit second-ranked Duke on Thursday. Sebastian Koch added 15 points and nine
rebounds, while Lucas Troutman finished with 14 points and 10 boards.
Both teams enjoyed five-point leads in the first half, although Elon's came
with 1:26 to play until halftime. However, UMass closed out the frame with a
5-0 surge as the teams went into the locker room knotted in a 33-33 tie.
The Minutemen led for most of the second half and were up by as many as nine
with 9:31 to play in regulation. Elon erased a seven-point deficit over the
final three minutes, as Tanner Samson's 3-pointer with eight seconds on the
clock tied the game at 66-66. UMass had a chance to regain the lead with 2.2
seconds left, but Williams missed a pair of free throws.
The teams continued to battle back and forth in overtime, until Jesse Morgan's
layup with 1:39 remaining kickstarted an 8-1 run for the Minutemen.
The game featured 11 ties and six lead changes, but Elon was simply unable to
overcome a 29.9-percent shooting effort from the floor.
GAME NOTES:
The Sports Network