University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Providence
Turnovers Doom UMass In 85-65 Loss At Providence
December 20, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Box Score
UMass-Providence Box Score 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Massachusetts men's basketball team was unable to overcome a season-high tying 18 turnovers in a 85-65 loss to Providence at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Saturday.
Maxie Esho led UMass (6-5) in scoring with 17 points. He had the majority of his production after halftime, going for 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 7-of-8 from the foul line in 14 minutes.
Donte Clark (14) and Zach Coleman (10) both reached double figures off the bench. Coleman had his best game at UMass with career-highs in points and three 3-pointers. Clark was the only other Minutemen player to connect from outside as the team was 4-of-16.
UMass shot 42 percent and got the free throw line 20 times in the second half, ending the game 19-of-28.
PC (9-3) got a game-high 27 from LaDontae Henton and 16 points and 11 assists from Kris Dunn. The Friars shot 45 pct and outrebounded the Minutemen 42-32. The held a 20-10 edge in points off turnovers.
With the Friars leading 7-6 just over five minutes into the game, the home team scored seven-consecutive to stretch its lead to 14-6 with 12:01 on the clock.
UMass cut the deficit to four with a 12-2 run that saw Coleman bookend the stretch with the first two 3-pointers of his career. His shot from the left wing trimmed the Friar lead to 24-20 with 5:17 left.
UMass went cold the remainder of the half, scoring just four points on four free throws and missing all six field goal shots. The Minutemen ended the period with 10 turnovers.
The Friars hit four of their final eight shots and ended on a 13-4 run to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room.
PC continued its scoring after half, using an 18-7 run to stretch the margin to 22 points with 13:40 to play. The Minutemen couldn't get any closer than 20 the rest of the way, seeing their two-game winning streak over the Friars end.
UMass will travel to BYU for a Tuesday afternoon game in Provo, Utah. Tip-off at the Marriott Center is set for Noon Mountain Time. The game will be televised on BYU-TV and broadcast in Western and Central Mass. on the UMass Sports Network.
