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UMass rallies from 16-point deficit in the second half to beat La Salle, 77-71

La Salle surrendered a 16-point second-half lead in its 77-71 loss to UMass.

Khalil Brantley, center, of La Salle goes up for a shot between Trent Buttrick, left, and Rich Kelly of UMass during the 1st half on Jan. 26, 2022.
Khalil Brantley, center, of La Salle goes up for a shot between Trent Buttrick, left, and Rich Kelly of UMass during the 1st half on Jan. 26, 2022.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
    by Rich Flanagan, For The Inquirer
    Published 

Rich Kelly poured in 21 points and dished out five assists, including the pass to Javohn Garcia for the go-ahead layup with 43 seconds left as UMass came back to beat La Salle 77-71 Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena..

Trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Minutemen (9-10, 2-5 Atlantic 10) rallied as Kelly scored 17 after intermission including a three-pointer to put UMass up 64-62 with 5:47 remaining. After shooting 46% and taking a 10-point lead in the first 20 minutes, the Explorers converted only 10 field goals after halftime.

Josh Nickelberry led the Explorers (6-11, 1-6) with 18 points and Jack Clark had 16 points.

Explorers bombarded on glass

The Minutemen entered the night averaging 10.6 three-pointers made, which was good for ninth nationally, but they were limited to eight and held to 36.4% shooting from behind the arc on the night. For a UMass team that was shooting 40.2% from deep coming in, the Explorers did a terrific job closing out and forcing the opposition to put the ball on the floor.

While the Explorers closed out on the perimeter, they struggled to keep UMass off the glass, losing the rebounding battle, 44-27. It was particularly noticeable on the offensive glass where the Minutemen corralled 17 boards that led to 16 second-chance points. C.J. Kelly and T.J. Weeks Jr. each had 10 rebounds for the Minutemen, and six of Weeks’ came on the offensive end.

Clark looking like his old self

After dealing with a litany of injuries, including two ACL tears, to begin his collegiate career, Clark is finally thriving on Olney Avenue. The 6-foot-8 redshirt junior from Cheltenham is in the midst of the best stretch of the season, averaging 13.8 points and six rebounds over the last five games.

He found Moore for a wide-open trey to put the Explorers up by 16 early in the second half. Down the stretch, he drove the baseline and threw down a thunderous dunk to cut the UMass lead to 65-64 with 4:51 left to play

He tied a career-best with 21 points in a win over St. Joe’s on Jan. 17, where he nailed a career-best five three-pointers. Clark followed that up with nine points and nine boards against Rhode Island then put together a 13-point, eight-rebound outing versus Richmond, with 11 of those points coming in the first half.

    RF
    Rich Flanagan, For The Inquirer
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