WASHINGTON (AP) — Noah Fernandes generated a career-high 29 points as 10th overall Massachusetts toppled No. 7 George Washington 99-88 in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday night at Capital One Arena.
Headlined by Fernandes' breakout performance, UMass (15-16) progresses into the Quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, squaring off against second-seeded Dayton at 6:00 p.m.
"If you look at the stat sheet, [Fernandes] had 29 points, seven assists, and seven steals in a conference tournament game," Massachusetts head coach Matt McCall said. "If that's not one of the best guards in the Atlantic 10, I don't know what it looks like. I'm sorry. And I like, I know he's ours, but he's just a warrior, and he leaves it all out there, and he plays the game with such a passion."
In total, five Minutemen fought their way into double figures with T.J. Weeks Jr. and C.J. Kelly collecting 15 points apiece awhile Rich Kelly and Trent Buttrick totaled 13 each. The latter paced Massachusetts on the glass as well, pulling down 16 boards for the team's lone double-double.
UMass captured the initial lead on the scoreboard and proceeded to never surrender that advantage, surging to a halftime edge of 20 points. The second period featured lead maintenance on behalf of the Minutemen as George Washington battled back, closing the gap to as narrow as 11 but never managing to breach into single digits.
Joe Bamisile set the offensive tone for the Colonials (12-18) with 25 points while Brayon Freeman contributed 18 points and seven assists. James Bishop put in 15 points as well.
"I think a quote I'm going to live with after this season is: 'Don't get punched in the mouth first,'" Bamisile said. "I think we did that starting the season. We did that starting halves, and we always found a way to claw back a little bit. But you can't get punched in the mouth first."