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AMHERST, Mass. -- Gary Menin's last-minute decision to take part in the halftime ceremonies at UMass' annual spring game Saturday wasn't by design.

Menin, a 30-year-old attorney, held back tears as he explained the shock of hearing the news Friday morning of the death of his former roommate of two years in Somerville. He collapsed to his knees and broke down in his Milton home, in shock and disbelief.

Sean Collier, a 26-year-old MIT campus police officer, was slain in the line of duty during the nearly 20-hour manhunt for two suspects connected to Monday's Boston Marathon bombings.

"I didn't know him in the capacity of a cop. I knew him grilling in the backyard. I knew him playing Frisbee in the park by Tufts," Menin began, eyes welling up. "He's a real person, and now a lot of people aren't going to get to know him. They'll read about him, but you don't get to hear his voice, or play 'Rock Band' with him, you know, stuff you do with roommates."

Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, those who were unable to finish Monday's marathon were invited to run a ceremonious "finish" at halftime of the annual intrasquad scrimmage that concludes spring practices. Menin was among the six taking up the offer, running a lap around the perimeter of the gridiron and finishing with a scamper across the 50-yard line, with football players forming a gauntlet along the last 50.

Menin, a UMass alum, was one-tenth of a mile from the finish line when the explosions went off, and found himself circumnavigating around the block another mile to find his family, who were waiting at the finish line at the time.

He may not find closure over losing his former roommate to such senseless violence.

"If this is how I feel, I can't imagine what his family is going through," Menin said.

But he felt honored to be able to partake in today's ceremonious run.

"Unfortunately I found out very last minute I wanted to do this for Sean," he said. "It's nice to have everyone here. Everyone's been so great in Boston, but in Massachusetts and all around the world as well."

Shrewsbury resident Lisa Lunt, 30, was stopped a few miles back from the finish line when the explosion went off, and Saturday wielded an American flag during the lap -- just as she did for the entire race on Monday, as a tribute to servicemen deployed overseas.

"I'm a UMass alum, and today I really wanted to be a part of it," Lunt said. "If people can die overseas for our country, I can carry a flag for 26 miles. It's a small price to pay."

Players also paid tribute to Collier and the three victims who lost their lives in Monday's bombing by placing the full names of each on their nameplates on the backs of their jerseys. Defensive back Randall Jette wore the nameplate of Collier; he was joined by linebacker Stanley Andre (Martin Richard), wide receiver Klysmann Afonso (Krystle Campbell), tight end Brandon Howard (Lu Lingzi), and tight end Rob Blanchflower, who wore a "#BostonStrong" nameplate.

"I know how it is growing up in Dorchester," says Andre, who hails from the same part of Boston as Richard, the 8-year-old who lost his life in Monday's bombing. "Dorchester is a tough neighborhood. Not to see him grow, it's tough to experience and witness. It's really an unfortunate tragedy."

Afonso, a midyear walk-on from Medford, grew up on the city's Lawrence Street, a short distance from the 29-year-old Campbell's Park Street residence. And while he didn't know Campbell or her family personally, he knew folks that were close to her.

"I know some of my friends who have worked with her family and said she was just a joy to be around," he said. "I was so proud to have her name even on my nameplate. That was just a huge honor for me to represent Medford, her and the bombing victims."

UMass head coach Charley Molnar called Saturday's event "really high" on the list of most memorable moments of his decades-long coaching career.

"This is was much bigger than I ever thought it would be," he said.

He also said he plans on trying to run for next year's race.

"After the events on Monday, I was absolutely determined that I want to run Boston in 2014," he said. "I'm going to enter my first marathon in Long Branch, N.J., in a few weeks, and just see where I'm at, and maybe get a couple more under my belt to see if I can qualify."

In previewing the Atlantic 10 tournament, which begins Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, ESPN.com college basketball writer Eamonn Brennan lists UMass point guard Chaz Williams as one of his five players to watch and lists the Minutemen, who open play Thursday night at 9 against George Washington, as his sleeper pick:

Sleeper pick: This is kind of a funny question, because as I mentioned in the intro, at the start of the season it felt as though this league had about 10 sleepers. Those ranks have dwindled, of course, but there are still plenty of threats that didn't get a first-round bye. Xavier has improved steadily over the course of the season (and the first rule of Xavier is never bet against Xavier); Richmond is a threat to get hot and rattle off a handful of wins with Derrick Williams back from injury; anything can happen with Charlotte, but it's a tough out; and Saint Joe's … well, OK, let's not go too far. If I had to settle on one, I'd probably go with UMass. The Minutemen are the team with the most on the line, and they certainly have the talent to go deep.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of Brennan's A-10 tourney preview.

The pairings are set for the Atlantic 10 tournament, with the sixth-seeded University of Massachusetts to open against No. 11 George Washington on Thursday night (9 p.m.) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The winner of that game will face No. 3 seed Temple in the quarterfinals. The Owls beat VCU, 84-76, on Sunday.

UMass, which was 9-7 in the A-10 for the second straight year, suffered what may have been their worst loss of the season -- at least in terms of their standing in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee -- at the hands of the Colonials, losing 79-76 on Jan. 19 in Amherst. The Minutemen trailed much of the day and fell behind by 16 in the second half before staging a furious rally that fell short.

UMass' chances of getting an at-large bid to the Big Dance appear slim, although wins of Temple and second seed VCU in the semifinals could conceivably at least put them in the bubble conversation. But clearly if the Minutemen want their first NCAA bid since 1998, they'd best win four games in four days. And the way the bracket sets up, they could have four teams who already have beaten them -- GW, Temple, VCU and St. Louis or Butler -- lined up ahead of them.

AMHERST, Mass. -- Thursday night’s visit to the University of Massachusetts by Butler, in all likelihood the Bulldogs’ one and only game in Amherst as an Atlantic 10 foe, certainly created a buzz in the area.

But from start to finish, the visitors took most of the sizzle out of the matchup.

The 9,341 fans at the Mullins Center, just shy of being the first sellout at UMass since 2006, were willing, but Butler controlled the tempo largely by dominating on the boards, handing the Minutemen a 73-62 loss that deals a serious blow to any hopes UMass had of garnering an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

UMass, which hasn’t been to the Big Dance since 1998, had been on the fringes of the bubble conversation. But a high profile win over Butler, which had been in the Top 25 for 11 weeks before dropping out in the most recent polls, plus a season-ending win over Rhode Island on Saturday and a couple of wins in next week’s A-10 tournament would have made UMass a legitimate talking point for the selection committee.

Instead, at 18-10 overall and 8-7 (tied for seventh) in the league, the Minutemen likely will be an NCAA afterthought unless they win the A-10 tourney.

“We couldn’t find our rhythm or our groove,” said point guard Chaz Williams, who normally drives the UMass offense but was given little room to maneuver by Butler’s defense. Williams finished with 8 points and 8 assists. “We weren’t getting any transition points and we weren’t getting any rebounds. Our game is transition, and we weren’t getting any transition chances. It was real frustrating.”

To Williams’ point, UMass had only six fast-break points and were outrebounded, 37-20. Butler had 17 offensive rebounds, which often led to open shots and hoops that demoralized the Minutemen and the crowd.

“You get outrebounded by 17, that’s unacceptable,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “When you don’t get any defensive rebounds, you’re not going to get any transition baskets and that’s what happened tonight. They actually out-toughed us.

“We understand it was a missed opportunity with a great crowd. The fortunate thing is the season’s not over. We still have an opportunity in front of us.”

UMass missed its first three shots and trailed from wire to wire. The Minutemen got within a point midway through the first half, but were behind 30-22 at the break, their lowest output in the first 20 minutes this season.

Butler built the lead to 14 in the first 2:30 of the second half, and while UMass got within 8 and briefly caused the Bulldogs some problems with its pressure defense, it failed to capitalize on the other end. And while Butler was flummoxed by VCU's "havoc" defense in an 84-52 blowout on Saturday, the Minutemen's pressure was nowhere near as relentless or disruptive.

A pair of wide open dunks by Kameron Woods (17 points off the bench) on passes by Roosevelt Jones (8 assists) on back-to-back possessions extinguished any flicker of fire for the Minutemen, giving Butler a 54-41 lead with 8:47 to play.

Butler, which got 17 points from Rontei Clark and 13 points and 15 rebounds from Andrew Smith, held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Minutemen rode their 3-point shooting to a big win at Xavier last weekend (13 for 25), but were just 4 for 18 beyond the arc on Thursday. Senior Terrell Vinson (17 points on 6-of-9 shooting) was their only reliable option offensively.

Despite the disappointing outcome on his Senior Night, Vinson isn’t ready to pack it in.

“Yeah, I’d rather have the win,” he said, “but the season is far from over. We’ve got a lot more games.”

Former University of Massachusetts pitcher and Pittsfield, Mass., native Matt Torra, a 28-year-old minor leaguer still working at earning a shot in the bigs, hopes to open some eyes while pitching for Italy in the World Baseball Classic next month.

Torra's paternal great-grandfather was born in Italy, which makes him eligible for that country's team in the WBC.

"I'm really looking forward to that opportunity," Torra told the Daily Hampshire Gazette. "I think it's going to be a great experience."

Torra, who was a sandwich pick (between the first and second round) in the 2005 MLB draft, signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals in December and expects to be assigned to the team's Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse.

"As I'm getting later in my career as a minor leaguer, joining the Nationals is hopefully going to give me that boost that I need," Torra told the Gazette. "Hopefully something positive comes of it."

Torra was profiled last summer in a feature story by ESPNBoston.com contributor Marty Dobrow (CLICK HERE).

The University of Massachusetts' hopes to make the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time since 1998 have taken a major hit with news that junior guard Jesse Morgan will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Morgan, the Minutemen's starting shooting guard and their second leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, was injured in Thursday's 70-62 loss at St. Louis. Morgan's right knee buckled as he drove to the hoop and he howled in pain while being tended to by team trainers.

The initial diagnosis was a sprain, but after Morgan was seen by doctors on Tuesday, the tear was discovered. He is expected to have surgery next month.

The Minutemen are 11-4, 1-1 in the Atlantic 10.

Coach Derek Kellogg likely will use senior Freddie Riley in Morgan's place, as he did in Sunday's 77-73 win at Fordham. In that game, Kellogg also used regular point guard Chaz Williams in the off-guard slot with freshman Trey Davis playing the point.

“I feel bad for Jesse obviously,” Kellogg told the Daily Hampshire Gazette. “He’s worked really hard to be one of our team leaders and one of our better players. To have an injury like that cost him the rest of his junior year is tough for him. It’s tough for our team to a certain extent. We have some other guys that are ready to step up and play for Jesse.”

In addition to being an explosive scorer, as evidenced by his 35-point effort against Ohio on Dec. 19, Morgan is UMass' top perimeter defender and a key 3-point threat, which is a big part of the Minutemen's offense.

While Riley has been a solid contributor both offensively and defensively over the last half-dozen games, averaging just over 11 points, he's been a bench player most of his career. Even if Riley approaches Morgan's production, the loss in depth figures to hinder the aggressive, pressing defense the Minutemen have used with good results the last couple of seasons.

Davis had the best game of his career against Fordham with 12 points and 4 assists in 21 minutes.

They've gone head-to-head on national TV, and now they're competing for the honor of being named the nation's top college point guard.

Harvard's Siyani Chambers and UMass' Chaz Williams battled back and forth during their team's meeting in the ESPN Tipoff marathon on Nov. 13, with the Minutemen winning on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and now both have been named to the watch list for the 2013 Bob Cousy Award on Thursday, according to a release by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which sponsors the award.

Players are nominated for the award, which is then selected by a panel of media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Fame members.

Chambers, a freshman, is second on the Crimson is scoring (12.1 points per game) and leads the team and the Ivy League in assists at 5.1 per game. He's twice been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week (Dec. 3 and Dec. 17).

Williams, a junior, is also second on his team in scoring at 15.4 points per game, and first in assists at 7.0 per game.

Williams' assist average ranks him in a tie for 10th in the country, while Chambers checks in at 56th overall.

The two point guards are among more than 80 players on the initial watch list, which will be cut down to 20 around Jan. 1, to 10 around Feb. 1 and to a final five by approximately March 1. The winner of the award will be announced during the Final Four, during the Hall of Fame's announcement of the 2013 class.

“The Hall of Fame is proud to continue its mission with Mr. Cousy to celebrate and honor the top collegiate point guards in the country,” John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, said in a release. “This list represents a large range of college basketball's top student athletes from across the country. We are excited to recognize these players for their continuous hard work and dedication.”

Previous winners of the Cousy Award include Jameer Nelson, Raymond Felton, D.J. Augustin, Ty Lawson and UConn's Kemba Walker.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

AMHERST, Mass. -- Despite a 5-3 record and a season's worth of heart-stopping victories, the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team really hadn't found its rhythm entering Wednesday night's game at the Mullins Center against Ohio.

But on Wednesday, junior guard Jesse Morgan hit a groove that would make salsa-dancing UMass alum Victor Cruz jealous.

Morgan erupted for 35 points and sparked a 23-1 first-half run that paced UMass (6-3) to its best outing of the season, an 85-76 win over the Bobcats (7-4).

Morgan's outburst came on 12-of-18 shooting, 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. He came within 3 points of the school record at the Mullins Center set by Marcus Camby in 1996. Morgan's previous career high was 25 points last season.

"I've seen him do that before, but to see him do that in a college game was really kind of uplifting for the team, I think uplifting for the fans," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "And as a coach, when he's rising up and you think it's going in, instead of praying it goes in, I felt really confident."

Save for Sampson Carter's uncontested layup off the opening tip, the Minutemen came out disjointed on both ends of the court, with Ohio taking an 18-6 lead after a UMass turnover and a breakaway layup by D.J. Cooper with 15:19 remaining. At that point, the Bobcats were 6-of-8 from the floor, the Minutemen 2-of-7. That would change in a heartbeat.

Out of the break, the trio of Cady Lalanne, Maxie Esho and Freddie Riley entered the game and helped provide the energy and spark the Minutemen were lacking. Add in some unconscious shooting by Morgan, and UMass had found its formula for success.

Lalanne and Esho took control of the paint under the UMass hoop and started cleaning up the glass, which was a problem in the early going. Offense? That was Morgan's department.

The junior from Philadelphia was coming off his worst game of the season, and one of the worst of his career, hitting just 1 of 9 shots in a 78-73 overtime win over Elon on Saturday. In fact, Morgan has had trouble finding his stroke much of the season. In his previous six games, he was just 25-for-81 from the field (31 percent) and 14-for-37 (38 percent) from behind the arc. Take out a 7-for-14 game against Northeastern on Dec. 4 and the numbers fall to 27 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep.

But Morgan has shown in the past he can heat up in an instant. Morgan's outburst in the first half Wednesday was a certified bonfire. Morgan fueled the 23-1 run, scoring 16 points, that exhibited the promise UMass has fulfilled only sporadically to this point in the season.

In a flash, the 18-6 deficit was a 29-19 lead, with Morgan doing much of the damage from 3-point land. He finished the half with 22 points and was 4-for-4 on 3-balls, and UMass led 48-40.

After Ohio erased the Minutemen's lead in the first five minutes of the second half, Morgan had another outburst, immediately answering with the first of his three 3-pointers as part of a 13-2 spurt that put UMass in control for good.

Morgan said he was firing away from his "in-the-gym range." "After a while I just black out," he said. "Shots just fall."

But Morgan's night started with an emphasis on defense, as he was the primary defender on Cooper, Ohio's leading scorer and floor general.

Morgan said the assignment helped him get in the flow of the game.

"Coach was talking about what a good player he is so I want to step up and take on the challenge. I didn't visualize this," Morgan said, referring to his career night offensively. "I visualized that I was going to play defense and play well."

While it's hard to look past a night like Morgan's, we all know that 3-point shots can come and go. More encouraging for the long-range hopes of the Minutemen was the performance of Lalanne, who asserted himself in particular on the offensive glass and showed the energy UMass will need from him.

"I thought he played a really good game," Kellogg said of the 6-foot-9 Lalanne. "Defensively he took up a lot of space and those offensive-rebound putbacks are huge."

Lalanne finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds (5 offensive) in 23 minutes, and came up big defensively at key stretches.

It was Lalanne's second game after serving a 12-day suspension, missing one game, after his Dec. 1 arrest for disorderly conduct at an on-campus event. Since a solid outing in the season opener against Harvard, Lalanne's impact had been limited, averaging 4.3 points and 4 rebounds in less than 20 minutes per game.

Lalanne said he used the time off to get his legs stronger and get his wind up.

"I'm feeling a lot better," he said. "Coach has said to bring energy so that's what I'm trying to do."

University of Massachusetts center Cady Lalanne was reinstated to the team Friday by athletic director John McCutcheon after being suspended for 12 days following his arrest at an on-campus event.

Lalanne, who had started all six games prior to his suspension, missed two contests -- both wins -- before returning for Saturday’s 78-73 overtime win over Elon.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound sophomore had six points and six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench against the Phoenix. He’s averaging 5.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in 2012-13.

Lalanne was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting a police officer making a lawful arrest on Dec. 1.

According to the university, the case is still pending but until it is resolved Lalanne will be eligible to practice and play with the Minutemen.

UMass starting center Cady Lalanne has been suspended from the team by coach Derek Kellogg after being arrested on campus on Saturday night, the team announced in a statement Monday.



Lalanne will not travel to Boston with the Minutemen on Monday and will not play in the game against Northeastern on Tuesday night.

Lalanne was arrested at the UMass student union and charged with disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting a police officer making a lawful arrest, according to the university's arrest log.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound sophomore was averaging 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20.5 minutes a game in 2012-13. The Orlando, Fla., native had started all six of the Minutemen's games to date, leading the team in blocks (1.8 per game) and ranking fifth in rebounding.

Lalanne was limited to 14 games last season with a foot injury and did not play after Dec. 30.

That whooshing noise you heard Saturday afternoon? It came from Amherst, and it was a “big sigh of relief from a lot of people.”

That’s how UMass head coach Charley Molnar described the Minutemen’s first win at the FBS level (in their 10th game as a Division I-A team) on his weekly Mid-American Conference call with the media on Monday.

“Not only was it a great day just for the players on the team, but everybody associated with the program and the whole university,” Molnar said of what the 22-14 win at Akron meant for UMass. “I think it was a big step that the university took to really make this into a I-A program and try to increase the visibility of our athletic program and our university across the country.

“It was a good first step for our program.”

The Minutemen defense produced four interceptions against the Zips, leading to 19 points. UMass’ special teams also played a role, with place-kicker Blake Lucas hitting three field goals and an extra point after not being called on in two of the previous three games as the Minutemen offense struggled (getting shut out by Bowling Green 24-0 on Oct. 20 and by Northern Illinois 63-0 on Nov. 3).

Molnar & Co. (1-9, 1-5 MAC) now finish off the season with two home games at Gillette Stadium. They host Buffalo (3-7, 2-4 MAC) on Saturday (3 p.m. ET), and Central Michigan (4-6, 2-4) on the day after Thanksgiving, Friday Nov. 23 (3 p.m. ET).

On Monday, Molnar broke down the Bulls.

“They have two defensive ends that are really as good as any we have played all year,” he said of Steven Means (3.5 sacks) and Colby Way (5.5 sacks). “Being able to control those two and neutralize those two is gonna take a lot of work on our part. It’s gonna take some outstanding work from our offensive tackles.”

Molnar also praised running back Branden Oliver.

“He’s not blazing fast but he has great vision and great cuts,” he said. “It’s gonna be a real challenge for our front seven playing against him.”

The Minutemen are still battling for legitimacy, hoping to build on what they accomplished last weekend.

“Obviously we have a long way to go,” Molnar said. “I was hoping that we’d be further along than we are right now, but nevertheless I think everybody feels pretty good and it was a big sigh of relief from a lot of people.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

AMHERST, Mass. -- With the bulk of its key contributors back from an NIT Final Four season, the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team enters this season with more anticipation and greater expectations than it has in more than a decade.

Yet with 1:21 remaining in its season opener against a Harvard team that lost two of its mainstays during an offseason cheating scandal, the Minutemen trailed by five, their fans bracing for a letdown they’ve felt before in the 14 years since their last NCAA tournament appearance.

So with the game on the line in the closing seconds, UMass turned to -- who else? -- a kid who missed the bulk of last season with a hip injury and hadn’t scored a point all game.

But to hear the Minutemen and coach Derek Kellogg tell it, having Sampson Carter hit a winning 3-pointer with one second to play -- giving UMass a 67-64 victory -- was just how they drew it up.

With game tied at 64 with 28 seconds to play, the Minutemen took possession after Chaz Williams and the UMass pressure defense forced a Harvard turnover along the sideline. Williams let the clock run down before making his move, driving the lane. As Crimson defenders converged, Williams dished the ball to an open Carter in front of the UMass bench, and Carter calmly drained the shot with 1.5 seconds to go.

“Once I saw Chaz go baseline and my man came off, I knew I was getting it because it’s something we work on,” Carter said. “I knew to slide to the corner.”

With time winding down, Carter said he didn’t have to think about whether or not to shoot.

“I heard the bench behind me saying, ‘Knockdown’ so I knew it was a knockdown and I was totally confident.”

Williams, UMass’ slippery point guard, also said he saw it all coming.

“As the play was setting up, I was already looking at the secondary defenders,” Williams said. “I saw Sampson creeping in early, real early. I just knew once I get to the rim if he (the defender on Carter) comes all the way to commit, I was going to pass it out to Sampson and I knew it was going in.”

Kellogg pledged his confidence as the play unfolded as well.

“When Chaz drove, I thought he was going to shoot it,” Kellogg said, “but they converged, they did what they were supposed to do with a point guard who can score like him. They ran five guys to the paint.

“It was funny. When I saw Sampson open, I instantly knew he was going to make that shot. He’s made that shot the last three days in practice every time. So if he didn’t make it, I was going to be thoroughly disappointed.”

At least Harvard coach Tommy Amaker admitted to being surprised by the hero who was unexpected to the rest of us.

“Chaz is an outstanding player. He’s quick, he’s crafty, it’s hard to keep in front of him,” Amaker said. “I was kind of excited honestly when he threw it out because he’s a great finisher at the rim and he’s also crafty enough to get fouled. So I thought it played into our hands.

“But as it turned out, obviously the kid made a big shot. He was in the right spot and Williams can find people.”

Kellogg admitted he had “kind of a weird lineup out there” at the end in response to how Harvard had been matching up, with Carter, Williams, Jesse Morgan, Freddie Riley and Raphiael Putney on the floor, a unit that has seen very little practice time together.

Harvard’s Wesley Saunders hit a pair of free throws to give the Crimson a 64-59 lead, but Jesse Morgan (a game-high 19 points) answered with a jumper in the lane to make it a 3-point game.

UMass, showing defensive intensity that had been lacking much of the second half, forced a five-second violation with 44.9 seconds left, and Morgan tied it with a three-ball with 37 seconds to go.

The Minutemen cranked up their full-court pressure again, and after Williams forced a turnover, hitting the ball off Webster’s foot, saying the ball “went the right way,” Kellogg declined to call timeout, letting the game play out.

“I put it in the players’ hands,” Kellogg said. “I learned that many years ago from the guy I played for, (John Calipari). In those situations, let’s have our stuff already in and we’re going to go and let the guys play.”

He was confident the result would be a good one.

“I think I have one of the best floor generals in the country and the other guys feed off him,” Kellogg said. “If we have the ball in his hands with some semblance of a set or a play, I’m usually confident that he’s going to make a good basketball decision.”

Even if it’s a decision that takes everyone else by surprise.

AMHERST, Mass. -- The Harvard men’s basketball team, coming off its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1946, was dealt a serious blow before the season even started when a pair of would-be seniors, forward Kyle Casey and point guard Brandyn Curry, left the school in the wake of a cheating scandal.

That left the keys to the Crimson offense to freshman Siyani Chambers, and while there surely will be some growing pains, Chambers impressed with his poise in Harvard’s near-upset of UMass, 67-64, Tuesday morning at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen like to press on defense as much as any team in the country, normally a recipe for disaster with such an inexperienced point guard, but Chambers more than held his own, committing just one turnover, to go with seven assists and 14 points, while playing all 40 minutes.

“For him to play as well as he did the whole game and go against an outstanding guard and the kind of pressure that UMass brings to have just one turnover, I thought that was a magnificent performance,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said, referencing Chambers.

“In his first road game as a college player, to play the way he did with his energy and his spirit, I think he’s shown he’s going to be an outstanding player. It’s just too bad we couldn’t cap it off with a victory to make it that much sweeter for him.

“We knew for us to have a chance against their pressure and how they would normally play, we knew how critical our ball-handling would be. Siyani and Wesley [Saunders] were going to do the bulk of the ball-handling and I thought they did as well as you could possibly ask.”

UMass guard Chaz Williams said of Chambers: “He played really good, he was solid. The kid has a lot of heart.”

Although Amaker cited UMass’ 29 points off turnovers as the difference in the game, particularly two critical miscues in the last minute and a half, UMass coach Derek Kellogg thought the Crimson did a good job dealing with the Minutemen’s pressure and backed off somewhat in the second half.

“We talked a lot about maintaining composure,” Amaker said. “The keys for us were concentration, composure and confidence coming in here. I thought we did that as best as we possibly could. That’s what makes it tough, when you do those things and come up on the short end.”

LALANNE BACK IN THE LANE: UMass got a significant boost with the return of sophomore forward/center Cady Lalanne, who was limited to just 14 games last season because of a foot injury. Lalanne’s presence was felt from the get-go, as he was active on the boards (eight of his 13 rebounds came in his first half) and under the hoop (four blocks).

Lalanne slowed down some in the second half, but showed enough to get his coach excited and not worry about easing him back.

“He’ll play as many minutes as he can,” Kellogg said. “If he’s still playing hard and competing, I think he gives us a weapon that you just saw a little bit of. I think he’s got a chance to be a really, really good player. If you see him get in little bit better shape, I think he’s going to become a big-time player.

WILD START TO THE SEASON: The Minutemen as a team certainly aren’t easing in. After a 10 a.m. start Tuesday, the team was scheduled to catch a 2:30 p.m. bus for a 5:10 flight for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. UMass opens against Providence on Thursday night.

Kellogg said he doesn’t mind the whirlwind start.

“I’m not one for sitting around much, so I think it’s pretty good for the kids. There’s no more easing into the season. Everybody’s playing, teams are ready to play. With the summer and the longer preseason, I think you see teams that are a little further along. Harvard looked like they were in midseason form. I thought they played really well.”

AMHERST, Mass. -- Rapid reaction from a scintillating 67-64 win by the University of Massachusetts over Harvard:

BACK AND FORTH: Although UMass came in as the favorite, the Minutemen couldn’t pull away with the teams battling within a few points of each other the entire second half. Steve Moundou-Missi hit a pair of free throws with three minutes to go to give Harvard a 62-59 lead. After the teams traded blocked shots, a Freddie Riley 3-point try rolled around the rim and out. Harvard’s Wesley Saunders then hit a pair from the line for a 64-59 lead, but Jesse Morgan answered with a jumper in the lane to make it a 3-point game.

UMass, showing defensive intensity that had been lacking much of the second half, forced a five-second violation with 44.9 seconds left, and Morgan tied it with a three-ball with 37 seconds to go. The Minutemen cranked up their full-court pressure again and Chaz Williams forced a turnover on the sideline as Harvard lost the ball out of bounds.

The Minutemen took over with 28 seconds left. As time wound down, Williams drove the lane, dished to an open Sampson Carter in front of the UMass bench and he drilled the trey for the win -- and his only points of the game -- with 1.5 ticks remaining.

LOOKING FOR LEADERS: With forward Kyle Casey and point guard Brandyn Curry, expected to be seniors and two of Harvard’s main men this season, no longer with the team in the wake of a cheating scandal, Harvard struggled at times in the first half to find its way on offense. The Crimson repeatedly plunged inside with spotty results thanks in part to the defense underneath by Cady Lalanne and Raphiael Putney. Harvard’s first 25 points came either in the paint or at the line. But a 3-pointer by Siyani Chambers with 2:40 left in the first half changed that, pulling the Crimson within 5 at 33-28, and a three at the first-half buzzer by Christian Webster made it a 1-point game at intermission. In the second half, Harvard got more comfortable, particularly Chambers, a freshman at the point. Chambers got the Crimson moving and Harvard played with more energy than UMass in keeping the game close the rest of the way. The Minutemen’s defense got a little soft and the Crimson took advantage.

LALANNE UP AND RUNNING: After being limited to just 14 games last season because of a foot injury, sophomore big man Cady Lalanne was back and in the starting lineup for UMass. Lalanne’s presence was felt from the get-go, as he was active on the boards (eight rebounds in his first 10 minutes) and aggressive under the hoop (he missed a couple of shots from close in but blocked three in the first half on the other end). The 6-foot-9 Lalanne will need to get up to speed to keep up with a lightning-quick point guard like Chaz Williams though, as he wasn’t prepared for a fast-break alley-oop from Williams midway through the first half.

EARLY WAKE-UP CALL: When John Calipari was trying to get some attention to a moribund UMass program in the 1990s, one of his slogans was "Any team, any time, any place," and he never turned down a chance to appear on TV, even if it meant playing at midnight, which it literally did several times during his tenure. So in a season in which the Minutemen enter with as much anticipation since Coach Cal's days, it seemed appropriate to open at the unusual time of 10 a.m. ET, as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon. The start time made for a late-arriving crowd (if any game could be excused for having a late-arriving crowd, this was it), but eventually business picked up and the noise level reached higher levels.

UP NEXT: The Minutemen are scheduled to fly to Puerto Rico later Tuesday for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. Their first game is Thursday at 7:30 (p.m., not a.m. this time) against Providence. The Crimson play next Friday at home against Manhattan.

The only person more ready than Derek Kellogg for the start of UMass basketball practice might have been his wife. The coach joked that he was driving her crazy.

Coming off a season in which his team advanced all the way to the NIT Final Four -- beating Mississippi State, Seton Hall and Drexel before finally losing to Stanford at Madison Square Garden -- Kellogg is no longer on the hot seat he started last season on.

But the coach is making sure he manages expectations at the outset.

“It’s amazing how fast, in a good way, things can change,” he said last month at the Massachusetts basketball media day at Boston College. “You always want to be conscious to not get too ahead of yourself. To not feel that it’s too good or too bad.

“A former coach of mine and mentor used to say, ‘It’s never as good as it seems, it’s never as bad as it seems, and the middle’s reality.’ I want to make sure that the players on our team know that last year at this time it wasn’t quite as bad as people were making it, [and] it’s not quite as good as people want to build it up to be.”

UMass returns a strong core of players, including point guard and leading scorer Chaz Williams, and forwards Raphiael Putney and Terrell Vinson. After four years in Amherst, Kellogg is happy to finally have a system completely in place.

“I think I know our players better than I ever have, because we’ve now spent four and maybe five years with some them,” Kellogg said. “On a personal level I feel really good about our kids and our team. On a basketball level obviously they’ve proven some things but I still feel like we’ve still got a long way to go.

“The one thing I like is that we now have kind of the UMass book of how I do things and what we’re gonna do. If we continue to improve and get better, I think we have a chance to have a pretty good squad if everybody buys in and is ready to go.”

The Minutemen will be tested even more this season, as newcomers Butler and Virginia Commonwealth raise the level of competition in the Atlantic 10.

“We joked that it’s great for the conference, probably not great for coaches,” Kellogg said. “What you have now is you have a bunch of coaches in the league that are kind of withstanding the test of time -- I’m hoping to be one of those guys -- you have two new guys that have turned down not just good jobs but great, high-major jobs, because I think they have great situations.

“Now we have some really top, top basketball teams in our conference.”

The Minutemen finished 2011-12 strong, knocking off Duquesne and No. 24 Temple in the A-10 tourney and then making their run in the NIT. This season, they were picked to finish fifth in the A-10, behind St. Joseph’s, Saint Louis, VCU and Temple, and ahead of Butler.

Kellogg wasn’t taking the credit.

“It comes back to the players. Those guys played. They competed. It was good to see that the kids bought it and fought every night out,” Kellogg said. “Whether we won or lost, if that’s what people see UMass basketball as, then I’ll live with that as the coach.”

To improve on last season’s finish, Kellogg says, it’s simple: “We go even harder. We go even tougher. We’re even meaner when we go to practice every day. We take the energy that they have, which has been phenomenal to this point, and we channel that in the right way to the basketball floor.”

UMass will help kick-start the season Tuesday on national TV, matching up with Harvard in ESPN’s Tip-Off hoops marathon. They play at 10 a.m.

No one is more ready to kick things off than Kellogg.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.