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Lowe's late jumper lifts UMass over Alabama

Mar 14, 2007 - 7:49 AM AMHERST, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- The Massachusetts Minutemen needed some last-second heroics from Chris Lowe to post a long-awaited victory.

Lowe made a pull-up jumper with 1.6 seconds left in overtime as the fourth-seeded Minutemen posted an 89-87 victory over No. 5 Alabama in a National Invitation Tournament first-round matchup.

The win was the first for Massachusetts (24-8) in a postseason game since 1996. The Minutemen advance to take on the East Region's top seed, West Virginia, on Thursday.

Mykal Riley scored a career-high 24 points for Alabama (20-12). He made a long 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to tie the game, 83-83, and force overtime.

Stephane Lasme scored 21 points and had nine blocked shots for UMass but he fouled out with 3:09 left in overtime. Lowe ended up 19 points, six assists and five steals.

Gary Forbes scored 11 points, including a three-point play with 1:14 left in overtime to give UMass an 87-85 lead. Freshman Demetrius Jemison made a layup with eight second left for Alabama to tie the game and set up Lowe's heroics.

Trailing, 52-51 with 14:32 left in the game, Alabama went on an 11-1 run midway through the second half to take a 62-53 lead, its largest of the game, with 11:37 to play in regulation.