March 5, 2005

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AMHERST, Mass. - Sophomore Stephane Lasme (Libreville, Gabon) scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead UMass to a 69-64 win over Duquesne on Saturday afternoon in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen have secured third place in the A-10 East and will play La Salle next Wednesday in the league tournament at 2 p.m. in the second game of the first round at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena. Richmond and Rhode Island kick off the action at Noon.

Four Minutemen scored in double-figures as UMass improved to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in Atlantic 10. Duquesne was led by Bryant McAllister who scored 14 points as the Dukes fall to 8-21 overall and 5-11 in the league.

Lasme's 14-for-14 effort at the charity stripe today tied a UMass record for most consecutive free throws made in a game without a miss. He tied Donta Bright's mark set on Jan. 17, 1996 against Rhode Island.

UMass led by as many as 11 in the first half going up 28-17 on sophomore Rashaun Freeman's (Schenectady, N.Y.) fastbreak dunk following a steal by sophomore Maurice Maxwell (Philadelphia, Pa.). Freeman netted 16 points and nine rebounds, while Maxwell posted 12 points, six boards and three steals.

With the three steals, Maxwell moves into an eighth-place tie with Anton Brown for thefts in a single season with 51.

The Minutemen entered the break up 37-30 improving to 13-2 this season when they lead at halftime.

Duquesne came out firing in the second half, taking a 41-39 lead at the 15:09 mark on a three-pointer from Chauncey Duke to cap an 11-2 run.

From that point, Lasme took over converting six straight free throws and hitting a lay-up after collecting the rebound from a Maxwell miss.

Rebounding was a decisive factor in the contest as UMass held a 42-27 advantage on the glass. The Minutemen were able to convert those into 14 second chance points, while Duquesne managed just one point.

Sophomore Art Bowers (Wilmington, Del.) sparked a lift for UMass off the bench as he scored 11 points in the game - part of a 23-12 advantage for the Maroon & White.

The Dukes cut a seven-point UMass lead down to two points 64-62 with 1:15 remaining, but another fastbreak dunk, this time by Maxwell, sealed the win.

Lasme finished the game as he started - perfect from the free throw line hitting the final two points of the game to give the 69-64 score.