AMHERST — It wasn’t pretty, but UMass beat Central Connecticut State, 89-43, in its opening game of the 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame Tournament.
Keon Clergeot led all scorers with 20 points as UMass (4-0) used a strong defensive showing to shut down the Blue Devils (0-4).
“I thought it was a great defensive performance,” UMass coach Matt McCall said. “We held them to 18 points in the first half. … To see us hold them to 18 points in the first half, I was really, really pleased with our defense.”
The game started slow for both sides. Both teams ran the shot clock down on their possessions and it wasn’t until Clergeot stole the ball off the inbound and laid it in just over three minutes into the game when UMass got started.
The Minutemen struggled to get their offense going, but through hustle plays, offensive rebounds and forcing turnovers, they managed to separate themselves from CCSU and never gave up the lead.
UMass led 39-18 at the half but was up without their regular scorers getting going. Clergeot led all scorers with 12 points, followed by Samba Diallo’s nine. Carl Pierre had four points, Tre Mitchell was scoreless on one shot attempt due to foul trouble, Sean East had six points and TJ Weeks had four points on 1-for-5 shooting.
The Minutemen forced 15 first-half turnovers and scored 15 points off of those mistakes.
UMass picked it up in the second half. Clergeot continued scoring, East finished with 15 points and six assists, and the bench had major contributions.
Clergeot led the way for the Minutemen and helped set the tone on both ends of the court.
“I think him getting to the free-throw line early and seeing the ball go through the net, when you’re as gifted offensively as he is and you can get to the free-throw line early, it kind of opens some things up,” McCall said. “He makes a couple of free throws there – suddenly the basket gets a little wider. He gets a kick-out 3, drills it, gets it a little wider. Gets some middle pick-and-rolls late in the game to get down the lane and finish. I think it was a combination that him getting to the line early sort of opened some things for him offensively.”
Late in the second half, freshman guard John Buggs III went down with a non-contact knee injury driving to the basket. Buggs crumbled immediately and screamed out in pain. The crowd went silent as McCall and trainer David Maclutsky brought him to the back.
“That was the first person I met when I got here in the summer,” said an emotional East about his roommate. “I didn’t know him really, but like that’s my brother. He did it in prep school and he had to come here and sit out like eight weeks and now he’s hurt again and it’s just … He’s a good kid.”
Buggs’ impact on the team was felt when he came back out on crutches with his knee wrapped in ice. He was immediately swarmed by his teammates on the bench and as the final minutes closed, he had a smile on his face.
UMass will host Rider on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in another contest of the Hall of Fame Tournament.