AMHERST — Physically there was some question whether Luwane Pipkins would be able to play Wednesday night.
The UMass sophomore guard had a recurrence of the back spasms that had bothered him this summer and was receiving treatment right up until the start of warmups.
“He was the last person out of the floor for warmups because he was back in the training room,” UMass coach Matt McCall said. “He was dealing with it a little at shoot-around. Pip is a tough kid. I knew he was going to play. I was a little concerned. He’s a competitor. He’s not pulling himself out of the lineup.”
Pipkins played but struggled, shooting 4-for-15 in the 71-63 loss to Georgia State. He made 4 of 10 3-pointers, but wasn’t as quick or as effective going to the basket as he’d been in recent games.
“You have to just play. You can’t think about it,” he said. “If you think about it, it’s going to get worse and you’ll play bad.”
In addition to back issues, Georgia State built its game plan around slowing him down.
“Our whole deal was to take Pipkins out of the game. We did something I’ve never done in 30 years of coaching,” Panthers coach Ron Hunter said. “We opened the game in a box-and-one. It was probably the worst decision I’ve ever made. I had a lot of respect for that guy. We got out of that after the third possession. Sometimes you can outcoach yourself.”
As Pipkins’ shooting goes, so go the Minutemen. He’s shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and averaging 21.0 points per game in wins and shooting 33.7 percent with 15.7 points per game in losses.
EXTRA MOTIVATION — Hunter said UMass beating Georgia on Saturday motivated his team.
“Our kids talked about closing. Especially when Georgia lost here the other day,” Hunter said. “In our state, that’s big for us. I’m really proud of our kids.”
BOSTONIAN SPARK — Freshman Carl Pierre had 14 points, his second straight game in double figures and his fifth with 10 or more this season. In the last five games, the Boston product is averaging 11.8 points per game.
Fellow Boston native Rayshawn Miller added 10 points. It was Miller’s first time with 10 or more since the third game of the season.
MISCELLANEOUS — The game ends the two-game contract between the teams. UMass beat Georgia State last season on the road. … Maine, UMass’ Friday opponent, was scheduled to arrive in Amherst late Wednesday after losing at Central Connecticut, Wednesday. … Unique McLean has two combined points in the past three games.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage