AMHERST, Mass. • In what was billed as an Atlantic 10 heavyweight battle, St. Louis University and the University of Massachusetts engaged in a classic on Saturday. But the Minutemen landed a lot more body punches in the first half and managed a 72-59 win.
UMass (17-4, 5-2 Atlantic 10) took a 45-26 lead into the half built on a 22-5 run over the last 8:05. Raphiael Putney scored 10 of his game-high 22 points during the stretch and UMass pushed the lead past the point of no return.
Billikens coach Rick Majerus was disappointed in his team's effort in the first half, saying, "If they got half a sandwich or half a scholarship they'd be upset (too)."
SLU (16-5, 4-3), which came into the game giving up an A10-low 56.2 points per game, struggled to keep UMass off the scoreboard in the first half. The 45 points scored by the Minutemen was the second-largest single-half total the Billikens have given up all season, trailing only the 49 surrendered to Loyola-Marymount on Nov. 29.
The first half began as expected, with each team feeling the other out and trading baskets and leads. After a Dwayne Evans 3-pointer, Chaz Williams and Putney scored seven consecutive points to begin the Minutemen's game-deciding run.
Putney and Williams would again combine for a mini-run just two minutes later, with both hitting from inside and the lead widening to 10. The pair scored the last 18 points of the half, the last basket coming when Williams hit a pull-up jumper in the lane.
UMass shot 65.5 percent from the field in the first half, including five of seven from 3-point range, while SLU made just 10 of 31 shots and tied its season low for first-half scoring.
SLU started the second half with a much better effort, going on a 12-4 run that featured two 3-pointers by Cody Ellis.
After a spectacular alley-oop and free throw by Putney made it 52-38, SLU made another 12-4 push to pull within five at 56-51 with 4:57 remaining. That would be as close as the Billikens would get, however, as Chazz Williams, who finished with 19 points and seven assists, would draw a foul on a 3-point shot and sink all three free throw attempts to widen the gap again.
The knockout blow came with 49 seconds to play when Sean Carter powered home a dunk after SLU elected not to foul Williams.
The Billikens turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, allowing just 27 points — five by Putney.
Ellis said the biggest thing the Billikens can take away from this game is to play 40 minutes, a sentiment echoed by teammate Jordair Jett.
"If we can play 40 minutes, and not 20, we'll be all right," Jett said.
SLU's Brian Conklin, who did not start due to a tweaked ankle, made an impact off the bench with a team-high 17 points and added eight rebounds. Jett was the only other Billiken in double digits, with 13 points on six-of-eight shooting.
Saturday's performance leaves Conklin four points shy of 1,000 for his career. Teammate Kwamain Mitchell (1,137) reached that milestone on Dec. 7 against Vermont.
