Davidson Wildcats vs. UMass Minutemen Final: Minutemen fall short at home 71-63

The Massachusetts Minutemen kept Davidson 13 points under their season average but that wasn't enough. With 3:47 to go UMass had a 59-57 lead. Brian Sullivan then hit a three to give Davidson the lead for good. Tyler Kalinoski would score seven of the last eleven points to seal it.

Kalinoski and Sullivan led Davidson in scoring with 14 points each. Kalinoski proved to be even more of a headache for UMass with five steals and six assists.

Cady Lalanne did all that he could with a game high 17 points and 13 boards, six offensive. Lalanne was 6-9 from the floor and 5-9 from the line and played as well enough to give UMass a chance. When UMass went away from him their offense seemed to sputter.

UMass' biggest lead of the game came in the first half after an 8-0 run fueled by six Lalanne points putting them up 15-10.

That lead wouldn't last though as the Wildcats went on 18-4 spurt. UMass would close the gap at half thanks to Brian Sullivan fouling Trey Davis' three pointer at the buzzer. Davis would make all three free throws making the Davidson lead just two, 30-28.

Derrick Gordon and the Minutemen opened the second half with a defensive energy that forced three steals in the first four minutes. Gordon would make back-to-back layups off steals to give UMass a four point lead. Gordon had his usual all-around game with 10 points, five assists, and three steals.

The Minutemen would push that lead as high as five after Demetrius Dyson slammed one home from a nice feed by Gordon. Dyson continued to make the most of his minutes, scoring 10 points which is the first time scoring in double figures of the season. He was the most efficient Minuteman with 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from downtown.

Maxie Esho also had a nice game with eight points and 11 rebounds. His effort, combined with Lalanne, allowed UMass to out-rebound Davidson 41-37.

The problem for UMass though were turnovers. They had 16 as a team and five players had two or more. They also struggled from the free throw line and behind the arc, shooting just 61 and 23.5 percent respectively.

The Minutemen move to 9-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference with this loss. They need to start beating quality conference opponents like Davidson if they want some postseason consideration. UMass will get another shot as they take on Rhode Island on Saturday at 2:30.