Chaz Williams scored a career-high 29 points and dished out nine assists to lead Massachusetts past Xavier 80-73 Tuesday night, snapping a two-game skid overall and a six-game losing streak to the Musketeers.
Williams was 6 of 8 from the floor for the Minutemen (19-8, 8-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) and barely missed his third straight 10-assist game.
UMass shot 44 percent (27 of 61), hitting 10 of 27 from long range. The Minutemen were 16 of 18 from the free-throw line and made their final 13 to hold off Xavier, which cut a double-digit deficit to five late in the game.
Trailing 21-16 with 8:41 to go until halftime, the Minutemen made four 3-pointers in a 14-2 spurt.
UMass expanded the lead to 41-29 at the break and led by as many as 20, at 59-39.
Xavier (17-10, 8-5) was led by Dezmine Wells with 19 points and three steals.
