Dec. 7, 2000

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - Erron Maxey's clutch shooting allowed Providence to overcome a pair of 9-point deficits early in the second half to beat Massachusetts 85-70 Thursday night.

Maxey shared scoring honors with John Linehan - each with 17 points - and sparked a 10-0 run that put the Friars (5-3) in front for good.

With the teams tied at 63 with 6:46 to play, Maxey made four straight hoops, followed by a pair from the line by Chris Rogers to give Providence a 73-63 advantage with 3:08 remaining.

UMass (1-4), which has lost four in a row, blew the lead it took going into the half and never made a serious run in the closing minutes of the game.

Abdul Mills' 16 points and Karim Shabazz's 10 were the other big producers for Providence.

UMass was led by Monty Mack with 19 points, followed by Kitwama Rhymer with 16.

The Friars scored the first two baskets of the game, but the Minutemen pulled ahead (8-7) in the first half with Micah Brand's back-to-back baskets.

UMass led by as many as eight (22-14) after successive hoops by Winston Smith, who ended with 10 before intermission.

Providence shot a lowly 35.5 (11-31) in the first half while UMass was shooting 50 percent (14-28) for a 35-29 lead. But the roles were reversed in the second half, when UMass' shooting dropped to 32.4 percent and Providence's surged to 54.8 percent.