UMass makes 12 3-pointers, upsets Georgia 72-62

Dec 17, 2017, 12:19 am

AMHERST, Mass. -- Luwane Pipkins scored 10 of his 17 points in the opening five minutes, freshman Carl Pierre had 15 points on career-best five 3-pointers and Massachusetts cruised by Georgia 72-62 on Saturday.

It was the 10th win for UMass over an SEC opponent and the first since a 92-90 victory against LSU at home on Nov. 12, 2013.

Rashaan Holloway added 12 points, Chris Baldwin 11 and C.J. Anderson 10 for UMass (6-5), which is unbeaten in six home games. The Minutemen were 12 of 22 from distance.

"You don't get an SEC opponent in your building very often," UMass coach Matt McCall said. "And our guys came out with the right frame of mind from shootaround today to warmups today. A great win, a great win for our program."

Pipkins, who leads UMass with 18.9 points per game, made his first four shots and scored 10 of UMass' first 16 points for a 14-point lead. The Minutemen led 24-9 at the 10-minute mark as Georgia opened the game making 4-of-14 shots.

UMass led by 22 points in the first half and it was 43-24 at halftime after the Minutemen made 56.7 percent of their shots, including 8 of 13 3-pointers. The Minutemen had 13 assists on 17 field goals. Georgia was just 10-of-31 shooting in the first half with seven makes coming from Yante Maten.

"We got off to a terrible start," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "We had not practiced well and we played the exact same way. The defense wasn't near what it needs to be at to win on the road. We didn't play well, but give UMass credit for taking the first swing. In the second half, we started to look like ourselves, but you can't dig that big of a hole."

Maten scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half for Georgia (7-2), which was coming off an 11-day break for final exams. It was Maten's fourth 20-point game of the year and 25th at UGA.

Pipkins used a crossover to create space and nailed a long 3-pointer to put UMass ahead 63-47 midway through the second half.

Tyree Crump hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, pulling Georgia to 65-55. But Anderson hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to give UMass a 15-point lead. The Bulldogs went without a field goal for five minutes down the stretch.

Georgia got within single digits, 70-62, for the first time since 17:26 in the first half on William Jackson II's floater with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia: Maten entered needing 17 points to pass Charles Mann and Carlos Strong for 13th on UGA's career scoring list. He's 12 points away from tying James Banks. ... The Bulldogs, winners over three 2017 NCAA Tournament teams in Saint Mary's, Marquette and Winthrop, were off to their best start since beginning the 2006-07 season at 8-1. ... The Bulldogs came in with a three-game winning streak by an average of 4.67 points per contest.

UMass: The first-half shooting percentage (57 percent) was the second best for UMass this season after the Minutemen shot 61 percent in the first half against Providence a week ago. ... Pipkins scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half and the sophomore guard has scored a combined 34 first-half points in the past two games. ... Pierre made his fourth 3-pointer of the first half with 2:23 left to give UMass its largest lead of the game at 41-19.

UP NEXT

Georgia hosts in-state rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

UMass stays at home to play Georgia State on Wednesday.