HAMDEN, Conn. — After his team’s 68-66 loss to Quinnipiac Wednesday, UMass coach Matt McCall delivered some familiar refrains about his team’s lack of intensity and toughness.
“I talked a lot about having the right mentality. They want to win just as bad as we do,” McCall said. “There’s so much that goes into winning that we have to learn.”
He pointed to Quinnipiac’s physical edge early that set the tone.
“We wanted no part of the physicality at the beginning of the game. We thought it was going to be easy. It doesn’t work that way at all,” said McCall, whose team fell behind 38-29 at halftime. “We have to be more physical around the basket. We have to look to drive and put more pressure.”
Fouls played a huge role in the game. UMass made just 3 of 5 free throws compared to the Bobcats, who were 22 of 27.
“When I was at Chattanooga our teams were always near the top of the country at getting to the free-throw line,” McCall said. “We have to be more aggressive to get to the paint.”
The foul trouble not only sent the Bobcats to the line five times more than the Minutemen, but also forced Rashaan Holloway, Chris Baldwin and eventually Malik Hines to sit for long stretches.
Because of quick fouls in both halves, Baldwin played just seven minutes after emerging as a key piece for the Minutemen in Brooklyn, New York.
Holloway played just a minute in the first half with two fouls. The second, which was offensive, appeared to be the result of a flop on replay.
“The ref told me he may have missed a flop,” Holloway said. “In the second half he let me play more aggressive. I could use my size.”
Holloway was effective in the second half and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. He has 30 points in 33 minutes in the last two games, almost all in the second half. He said the Minutemen need to do a better job drawing fouls.
“Everybody has to be aggressive. The way they’re going at us we need to go back at them. It’s frustrating to see the difference between the free throws and the fouls,” Holloway said. “You can make excuses and say the officials did this or the officials did that, but it’s the players being aggressive.”
ANDERSON BREAKS OUT — C.J. Anderson, who struggled offensively (4-for-14, eight points) in two games in Brooklyn, had a career-high 23 points, including a four-point play and had a career-high four 3-pointers. He shot 9-for-17 and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. His seven rebounds were one shy of a career high.
“He made shots tonight,” McCall said. “He’s fully capable, the ball just hasn’t gone in the basket for him. As long as he continues to be aggressive and play the game the right way, he’ll be fine.
PIPKINS SHOOTING WOES — Sophomore guard Luwane Pipkins continued to struggle from the field. After shooting 8-for-29 in Brooklyn, he was 2-for-13 against Quinnipiac and finished with a season-low five points.
In the last two games, he’s 3-for-25 (12 percent) from the field and 1-for-8 (12.5) from 3-point range.
AWAY FROM MULLINS — UMass (3-4) continued to struggle in road and neutral games as it fell to 0-4 outside the Mullins Center. In three of those games, the Minutemen failed to finish as the losses to Harvard, BYU and Quinnipiac all came by three points or less.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage