UMass needed a win against St. Bonaventure last night and they got it. After losing at home to the Bonnies, 69-55, earlier this season, they got their fifth straight win on the road, 55-53, in come-from-behind fashion. Derrick Gordon was all over the win.
From Maroon Musket, which covers UMass sports:
[Gordon ]finished with an unspectacular eight points on 3-of-7 shooting, but grabbed three of his eight rebounds in the final 4:05 of the game and took advantage of his opportunities at crucial points, starting with 1:20 to play when St. Bonaventure's Dion Wright missed a jumper with his team up 53-49. Gordon skied for the rebound, corralled the ball with one hand and was fouled by Jaylen Adams on the way down. …
After rebounding a Marcus Posley miss, Gordon was once again at the center of insanity. He received the inbounds pass at the top of the key following a UMass timeout, drove to the basket and hit Cady Lalanne with a perfect pass in front of the rim. But Lalanne was stripped and St. Bonaventure regained possession with 23 seconds left. …
The Minutemen were ready to foul on the ensuing inbounds pass, but the ball instead unexpectedly wound up in the hands of Gordon…. Gordon calmly handled the frantic situation and swung the ball to Davis, who found Hinds for the winning 3.
UMass is now 43rd in RPI. If they win the rest of the games, even losing in the conference championship, it’s hard to see them not getting into the tournament. They sit at 15-9 and are now tied for first in the Atlantic 10.
