AMHERST, Mass. (AP)—Ricky Harris scored 24 points while Dante Milligan and Gary Forbes added 15 each as Massachusetts pulled away late for an 86-79 win over Charlotte on Saturday.
In a close game that had 13 lead changes and nine ties, the Minutemen (13-4, 2-1 Atlantic 10) went ahead for good when Milligan hit a pair of free throws with 4:54 to play to make it 74-72. Milligan was 11-of-14 from the line overall and 8-of-9 in the final 10 minutes.
Etienne Brower had 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for UMass.
Charlotte (11-6, 2-1) was led by Leemire Goldwire with a game-high 25 points. An’Juan Wilderness had 13 and Lamont Mack added 12 for the 49ers.
Charlotte led 18-15 early, but the Minutemen went on a 15-0 run to take a 30-18 lead. The 49ers responded with an 11-0 run to retake the lead 31-30. Chris Lowe’s jumper gave UMass a 41-38 halftime lead.
UMass shot 47 percent from the field in the game, including 11-of-26 from 3-point range led by Harris who was 4-of-7.
The 49ers shot 36 percent and were 10-of-29 on 3s.
