Harris scores 19 points for Massachusetts, which goes cold at end but edges Quinnipiac 62-58

Harris, UMass hang on to beat Quinnipiac 62-58

AMHERST, Mass. — Ricky Harris scored 19 points, 15 in the first half, as Massachusetts held on to beat Quinnipiac 62-58 on Wednesday night.

The Minutemen (3-4) had a 12-point lead, their largest of the game, with 6:17 to go but went without a field goal for the final 4:35.

The Bobcats (3-3) got within 59-55 with on James Johnson’s layup with 34 seconds left, but a free throw by David Gibbs and two by Anthony Gurley built UMass’ lead back to seven before Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Harris came out hot in the first half, hitting his first five shots, but Quinnipiac led for much of the half. UMass took a 28-26 lead on two free throws by Matt Hill, part of a 9-0 run that helped the Minutemen go to halftime with a 35-29 lead.

Gurley added 15 points for UMass. James Feldeine scored 20 points and Johnson 13 for Quinnipiac, which also got 13 rebounds from Justin Rutty.