CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Noah Fernandes scored 22 points, freshman RJ Luis added 18 points and UMass beat Colorado 66-63 on Thursday in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
Colorado's full-court pressure forced a turnover with 1:07 remaining, the 18th of the game for UMass, and Tristan da Silva made a baseline jumper at the other end to get within 65-63. Da Silva missed a 3-pointer on Colorado’s next possession and Fernandes grabbed the rebound with 9.6 remaining before making 1 of 2 for a three-point lead.
After a timeout with 6.5 seconds left, KJ Simpson was off on a 3-pointer but Colorado got the long rebound and passed it out to Simpson, who missed another as time expired.
It was a big win for UMass and its new coach Frank Martin as Colorado (2-2) was coming off a 78-66 upset of then-No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday.
Isaac Kante added 10 points for UMass (2-1).
Luis made a steal and a fast-break dunk to extend UMass’ lead to 57-47. The basket came during the Minutemen’s 11-0 run as Colorado missed nine straight shots.
Da Silva finished with 17 points for Colorado. Simpson had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
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