AMHERST — The last time a short-handed UMass team played Dayton, the Minutemen delivered one of their best efforts of the season and started a three-game winning streak.
Coming off five straight losses, UMass (10-13, 3-7 Atlantic 10) could use a winning streak of any length and are hoping a rematch with the Flyers produces the same result. The teams meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Mullins Center.
“Beating a team two times is extremely difficult. Dayton will come in here completely ready to play,” UMass coach Matt McCall said. “They’ll be on edge. Beating a team for the second time, everything you did the first time, you have to do it again. But you have to do it better, you have to do it harder. You have to do it more aggressively. If you don’t, because of how they’re going to come in here, you’re going to lose and you’re going to lose big. We have to be hungry and ready to go.”
In UMass’ 62-60 win at UD Arena on Jan. 6, Luwane Pipkins led UMass with 25 points and Carl Pierre added 15 with each player hitting two 3-pointers. Out of 351 teams, Dayton ranked 299th in 3-point percentage defense (37.7 percent) and the Flyers’ other defensive numbers have been subpar as well.
“It’s been a problem,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant told the Dayton Daily News. “For us, our ability to take care of the basketball and not give up easy shots the other way affects what we do defensively, and we’ve got to do a better job making sure we can guard the basketball, especially with a team like UMass with a guard like Pipkins, who can break your defense down by himself, and the ability they have to stretch your defense with the 3-point shooting.”
Chris Baldwin had two 3s vs. Dayton as well. He’s missed the last two games with a knee injury and won’t play Saturday. UMass is waiting for test results from Tuesday to determine the timetable for his return.
Since losing to UMass, the Flyers (10-11, 4-5) have gone 3-3 with wins over Richmond, VCU and Davidson and losses to Saint Joseph’s, Rhode Island and Saint Louis. The Flyers are 1-3 on the road in Atlantic 10 play this season and 1-5 in true road games all season.
Darrell Davis and Josh Cunningham are No. 11 and 12 in the conference in points per game with 16.5 and 16.1, respectively. Cunningham is third in rebounding at 8.7 per game and his 67.7 field goal percentage leads the conference.
LEAMAN LEGACY — The game will be preceded by the annual Leaman Legacy Clinic, a multi-sport event Saturday morning at Boyden Gymnasium from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Participation is free for any child under 12 who is accompanied by an adult with a ticket to Saturday’s game. Participants receive one free ticket to the game. Advanced registration is required. Contact Chris Tucci at 413-577-2369 or at ctucci@umass.edu.
NEW SENIOR ASSOCIATE — UMass announced the hiring of Kirsten Britton as its new senior associate director of athletics for sport administration. She will also be the senior woman administrator. She replaces Darrice Griffin, who held both roles. Griffin recently accepted a similar position at Georgia.
Britton, who’ll start at UMass on Feb. 20, is currently an associate athletic director at Holy Cross and has worked at UConn and Boston College. She’s a Providence alumna with a master’s degree in athletic administration from Springfield College.
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