Sports: UMass hands 'Noles third consecutive loss

UMass hands 'Noles third consecutive loss

Free-throw shooting, Mack's record 30 points push Minutemen past slumping Florida State.

By CHAD CAPELLMAN

SUNRISE -- The Florida State Seminoles continued to play in fits and starts Saturday, and once again, that inconsistency hurt them at the finish.

Monty Mack scored an Orange Bowl Classic-record 30 points to help Massachusetts hand FSU its third straight loss, 69-60 at the National Car Rental Center.

Ron Hale recovered from a 3-for-15 effort in FSU's loss to Seton Hall a week earlier, and led the Seminoles with 22 points. The Minutemen (5-3) secured the winby making 9 of 10 free throws in the final minute.

Chris Kirkland was the only other UMass player to finish in double figures, scoring 16 points, but the Seminoles were also hurt inside by the play of Kitwana Rhymer, who finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

"We had opportunities," Florida State coach Steve Robinson said. "There's nobody to blame but ourselves. We've got to be able to make those kind of plays when the game is on the line. They made the plays."

Despite trailing most of the game, Florida State (3-5) never looked completely put away. And the Seminoles gave the Minutemen a scare midway through the second half.

After Micah Brand's putback layup with 15:04 remaining gave UMass a 39-33 lead, the Minutemen went cold. Hale made a tough jump shot in traffic to spark an 11-0 run that gave the Seminoles a 42-39 lead, their first of the second half.

"I thought we had the game pretty much under control," UMass coach Bruiser Flint said. "They took advantage of our mistakes. But we kept our poise and pulled it out in the end."

Mack played a large part in keeping the Minutemen on target. After FSU's flurry, Mack made a three-point basket to end the drought and tie the score at 42. FSU's Adrian Crawford made a jump shot nine seconds later, Mack answered with another three-pointer that gave UMass a 45-44 advantage and the Seminoles could not regain the lead.

"We had a stretch in the game where we looked as good as we've looked all season," Robinson said. "That's good if the game is only four minutes long. We've got to be able to play like that all the time. I look at us and say, "We're so close.' "

Mack was just 7-of-18 from the field but made all 12 free-throw attempts to put the Seminoles away in the final minute.

"I'm proud of him because I had to bench him ... last week he wasn't helping us," Flint said. "Today he did the things we needed him to do to win."

Damous Anderson, the Seminoles' second-leading scorer, returned to the lineup after missing the Seton Hall game with a sprained ankle. He finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

UMass took its largest lead of the first half when Winston Smith passed to Kirkland, who converted a layup that gave the Minutemen a 33-25 lead. Mack gave the Minutemen a big boost after a timeout with a three-pointer and a fastbreak layup during the run. Hale made a 10-foot jumper to pull the Seminoles to 33-27 at intermission.

Mack's 30 points surpassed Tim James' 29-point game for Miami against Ohio State in last year's Classic.