Pipkins 21 points leads UMass past Western Carolina, 85-76

Nov 22, 2017, 02:40 am

AMHERST, Mass. -- Luwane Pipkins posted his third consecutive game with 20 or more points, scoring 21 points and dishing a career-high 10 assists to lead Massachusetts to an 85-76 win over Western Carolina Tuesday night.

A game after knocking down seven 3-pointers in a win over Niagara, Pipkins drilled five treys against the Catamounts. Pipkins shared Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors after scoring 34 points against Niagara and 23 in a loss to Harvard last week.

The Minutemen hit 11 three-pointers, giving them 26 in their last two games. UMass shot 45.8 percent from the field (27 of 59), hitting 11 of 33 shots from deep.

Western Carolina shot 23 of 48 from the floor (47.9 percent), including 6 of 17 from deep.

Carl Pierre scored 15 points off the bench for UMass (3-1).

Freshmen Matt Halvorsen and Desmond Johnson scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead Western Carolina (1-4).