Recap: Fordham vs. Massachusetts

Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - Chaz Williams tallied 22 points, seven assists, and six rebounds as the Massachusetts Minutemen held off a late comeback attempt by the Fordham Rams to win, 77-73, in an Atlantic 10 Conference bout at Rose Hill Gym.

Terrell Vinson added 19 points for UMass (11-4, 1-1 A-10), which has won eight of its last nine games. Trey Davis scored 12 points off the bench, Freddie Riley netted 11 points, and Cady Lalanne grabbed 11 rebounds.

For Fordham (5-12, 1-1), Branden Frazier scored 21 points, and Chris Gaston recorded 20 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. Mandell Thomas put up 10 points and Ryan Canty ripped down 13 rebounds for the Rams, who have alternated losses with wins in each of their past nine contests.

UMass made good on 44.1 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half while holding Fordham to just 26.8 percent shooting, which allowed the Minutemen to take a 40-26 lead into intermission.

The Minutemen led by 11, 58-47, with nine and a half minutes to play in the game, but Fordham would not go away quietly. The Rams ran off a 20-11 run to bring their deficit to just two with 1:04 remaining, but Riley drained a 3- pointer with 34 second left as UMass went back up by five. It sealed its fate by going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch.

Fordham lost despite dominating the rebounding battle, 55-42.