COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : A No. 1 Comeback for Massachusetts

West Virginia seemingly had enough cushion to pull off a stunning upset. But did Coach Gale Catlett have the right philosophy?

West Virginia had built an 18-point lead over No. 1 Massachusetts with 4:48 to play in regulation, but the wide-open offense that got the Mountaineers that advantage failed miserably thereafter, and the Minutemen came back to win in overtime, 97-94.

“If you go back to where we had the big lead, maybe more conservative coaches would have nursed the clock,� Catlett said. “I don’t do that. I’m not going to start doing that. We’re here to win. We’re here to score points.�

So was UMass, in the final minutes anyway. The Minutemen used a 24-6 run to send the game into overtime, and Mike Williams made a three-point shot with 16 seconds to play that broke a tie and helped Massachusetts extend its winning streak to 14 games.

West Virginia (8-8, 3-5) led the Atlantic 10 game, 80-62, before Massachusetts (15-1, 7-0) went on its run to tie the game, 86-86.

After Williams’ three-pointer toward the end of overtime, West Virginia set up an inbounds play under its basket with less than two seconds left.

Cyrus Jones got the ball in the open and attempted a three-pointer, but it hit the back of the rim and bounced away at the buzzer.

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Notes

James Forrest, the leading scorer and rebounder for No. 21 Georgia Tech, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after suffering a broken bone in his left hand in an automobile accident in Atlanta. Forrest was returning to campus at 1:30 a.m. Friday after watching the UCLA-Stanford basketball game at a friend’s house when he was involved in a four-car accident on Interstate 285. No charges were filed.