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Williams, UMass down Miami-Ohio

Jan 5, 2014 - 6:31 AM Amherst, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chaz Williams had 18 points and eight assists as No. 23 Massachusetts defeated Miami-Ohio 73-65 on Saturday afternoon.

Maxie Esho added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench, while Cady Lalanne chipped in with 12 points and six boards for the Minutemen (12-1), who have started 8-0 at home and won two straight since their lone defeat of the year against Florida State on Dec. 21.

"We'll have to play better in the conference," UMass head coack Derek Kellogg said.

Will Felder led the RedHawks (4-7) with 22 points and seven rebounds.

Williams nailed a 3-pointer, registered a pair of three-point plays and netted 11 points in the first 11-plus minutes as UMass raced out to a 21-12 start.

The RedHawks hung around, though, and trailed 36-32 at the break.

Esho scored 6 points during a 9-2 spurt for the Minutemen in the early stages of the second half. His three-point play gave UMass its largest advantage of the game at that point, 49-38, with 11:26 to go.

Miami never got within less than six the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Minutemen shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the field and 43.8 percent (7- of-16) from beyond the arc ... Miami was just 1-of-14 from 3-point range ... Geovonie McKnight had 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Miami.