AMHERST – Wildens Leveque’s right index finger pointed to the Mullins Center roof twice in less than a second.

Dyondre Dominguez eyed it through the Richmond defense as he pump faked a 3-pointer in the final two minutes of a tie game. After a dribble past the fly by defender, Dominguez floated the ball up and over the rim with his dominant left hand. Leveque soared to meet it with his right hand and slammed it through the net so hard it beat him to the floor with 1 minute, 40 seconds left.

“I was prepared for it. If you could have seen me, I was pointing for Dre to throw it up,” Leveque said. “I was waiting for it, I caught it and it gave us more energy.”

The dunk gave the UMass men’s basketball team the lead for good Wednesday in an 85-76 win and powered a 12-0 run to close the game.

The Minutemen (12-8, 3-5 Atlantic 10) trailed 76-73 with 3:06 left after Jason Nelson shook the defense for an open 3. Richmond (11-10, 4-4) didn’t score again. The Spiders missed their last seven shots and went just 2-of-10 down the stretch after leading most of the way.

“Our resolve in the second half was really good,” UMass coach Frank Martin said. “We get passive when the game gets hard. We break away from our discipline to do our own thing when the game gets hard. Anytime you do those things, it’s over. (Wednesday) every time they made a push, instead of us hanging our heads I saw guys rallying to talk to one another.”

It was UMass’ first win over the Spiders since 2019. The Minutemen held Richmond to 39 percent shooting and won the rebounding battle, 39-32.

The victory was also the 300th in UMass head coach Frank Martin’s history. He won 171 games as South Carolina and 117 at Kansas State before picking up the Minutemen’s 12th win of the season on Wednesday.

“When I first start coaching players, they have to tolerate me. I’m overbearing at times, and I know that. I spend a lot of time with them, so they understand,” Martin said. “The ones that stick with me, then we start having a lot of fun together because we understand the purpose of everything we’re trying to do. I don’t get to those numbers without players that have stuck with me.”

UMass freshman RJ Luis, who scored a career-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, pulled up for a too-early 3 in the final two minutes that Matt Cross retrieved in traffic. That set the stage for Leveque’s emphatic alley oop with 1:40 left that put UMass ahead 78-76 – its first lead in 4½ minutes.

“That was just wild. Wil was trying to be flashy. Tight game, I'm thinking he was going to dunk it with two-hands,” Luis said. “But he dunked it with one, he got that.”

Richmond gave Luis one good look too many on the next possession, when he snapped a cold-blooded jumper.

UMass (12-8, 3-5) fought off two Richmond offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession, and Dominguez blocked Andre Gustavson at the rim. Luis sank two free throws and extended the UMass run.

Cross added 16 points and eight rebounds. 

“Matt gives us an identity of toughness. That’s something we need as a team,” Leveque said. “Someone to keep going after those, inspiring us.”

Diggins had 12 points, his second straight game in double figures, and Isaac Kante had 10.

Things were tight across the final minutes. Luis picked up his fourth foul with 7:30 left and gave way for a stretch. It sent Burton to the line, and he tied the game at 64 with two free throws.

“If I still had hair, I was going to tell you I’d pull my hair out with him defensively, but I don’t have hair. I can’t pull it out, so I’ve got to let him play,” Martin said.

Cross also fouled Burton with 5:09 left to pick up No. 4. The Uxbridge, who scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, native put Richmond ahead 69-68 after making both. UMass kept its work horse in the game over the final five minutes.

Andre Gustavson pushed the Richmond lead to 71-68 with a dive to the basket with 4:27 remaining.

Luis re-entered the game at the 4:27 mark and splashed a game-tying 3 just 13 seconds later.

Neal Quinn put Richmond ahead 73-71 with 3:56 left after making two free throws. That foul was Leveque’s fourth. 

Dominguez then calmly sank to free throws for UMass to even the game once again.

UMass opened the game on an 8-0 run powered by five points from Luis. He hit a 3 to begin the game after Cross dove for a loose offensive rebound then passed to Cross for a transition triple from the left wing on UMass’ second offensive possession.

Richmond didn’t score until a Neal Quinn free throw 3:18 in. Quinn slammed home the Spiders first field goal with a two-handed fast break dunk 5:25 in that made it 8-3.

The Minutemen extended their lead to 14-6 before the Spiders spun an 11-2 run to take a 17-16 lead with 8 minutes to halftime. Cross immediately responded with a 3 to restore UMass a two-point lead.

It changed hands three more times before halftime. Richmond built a seven-point lead with 4:41 to halftime after two Bigelow free throws. UMass shaved it to 3 at several points, but Burton drained a jumper at the first half buzzer to give Richmond a 37-32 lead at the break.

Unlikely suspects Diggins (24.2 percent from 3)  and Leveque (15. 4 percent) splashed back-to-back 3s exiting halftime to give UMass a 38-37 advantage 1:19 into the second half.

Leveque scored seven of his nine points early in the half as the teams wrestled over the lead. He picked up his third foul fighting for a rebound after a missed free throw with 14:14 left and needed to sit.

Burton immediately splashed a 3 to put the Spiders back ahead. Luis then found Isaac Kante with a deft pass through traffic for a layup and the lead again.

Luis lived at the free throw line in the first seven minutes of the second half. He hit five of six free throws and pulled UMass within 48-47 with 13:35 left.

Cross gave UMass a 50-48 lead after converting. an and-one layup through traffic with 12:35 remaining. It capped a 6-0 UMass run.

Cross splashed a 3 with 9:15 left in the second half that put the Minutemen ahead 57-55 after they’d trailed. UMass held Richmond just at bay over the next few minutes, pulling ahead and falling back even.

UMass will remain home and host Duquesne at 4 p.m. Saturday (NESN-Plus).

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@ gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>