UMass in NIT Final 4
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Chants resonated through the underground tunnels in the Carrier Dome.
"This is our house! This is OUR house!"
But the voices were coming from the visitors' locker room as the Massachusetts Minutemen went streaming in, bouncing and hugging, cheering and smiling, in sheer euphoria.
Down by 22 points with less than 15 minutes to go, UMass fought for its season. The Minutemen took their first lead with 26 seconds to go and clinched an unexpected 81-77 victory over Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament last night. In the Final Four, UMass (24-10) will play Florida at Madison Square Garden.
"Our kids are talking about going to the Garden, the Final Four in the NIT, and I'm telling them, 'You need to embrace what you've done here,' " said UMass coach Travis Ford.
Less than four months ago, the Minutemen overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to beat the Orange, 107-100, at the Carrier Dome. They are the first team to beat Syracuse twice at home in one season since Penn State in 1922-23.
Both teams struggled from the outset. But the Orange (21-14) began to find the 6-foot-9-inch, 258-pound Arinze Onuaku inside, and he had 7 points during a 10-0 Syracuse run. Onuaku finished with a team-high 20.
The Orange finished the half on a 14-4 run, carrying a 43-24 lead into the locker room. Was Ford worried?
"I wasn't real happy," Ford acknowledged, "but I said, 'Guys, get your heads up. We're lucky we're down 19.' That was the worst half of basketball we've played all year long, without a doubt. And we could have been down 30."
At the half, the Minutemen were led in scoring by reserve center Luke Bonner, who had 8 points and finished with a career-high 13. Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Gary Forbes had yet to net a field goal; he had three fouls before he had 3 points. UMass shot just 23 percent from the field.
Senior Dante Milligan (13 points, 11 rebounds) said he was nervous about the deficit, but other feelings came into play.
"We were just hungry," Milligan said. "They started to slow down and be more passive, so we attacked them. We just want to keep this ride going."
The tempo grew quicker as UMass's Ricky Harris (team-high 23 points) nailed back-to-back threes to get the deficit into single digits for the first time in 15 minutes.
Forbes and Harris hit from behind the arc on consecutive possessions, and just like that, UMass was down only 5.
With two minutes to go, Syracuse missed three consecutive layup attempts, and freshman Donte Greene (18 points, 9 rebounds) missed both attempts from the line. The Orange were gassed.
UMass ultimately took the lead on a dunk from Milligan. With four seconds left, Harris netted two free throws to ice the game.
