Massachusetts 68, Akron 63

3/22/2008 2:55 PM

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) -Ricky Harris scored 20 points and Massachusetts went on a 19-5 run to finish the game for a 68-63 win over Akron on Saturday in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.

The Minutemen (23-10) travel to Syracuse on Tuesday for a quarterfinal matchup. Massachusetts beat the Orange 107-100 in November.

Jeremiah Wood led Akron (24-11) with 25, the most points scored by any Zips player this season.

``We played well in the first eight minutes of the game and the last eight minutes,'' UMass coach Travis Ford said. ``But we were able to make enough plays to win.''

Akron led 58-49 with 8:36 remaining. Chris Lowe, who scored 17 points, started the comeback with a jumper in the lane. UMass pulled within 58-55 with 4:48 left, but Akron's Cedrick Middleton, who had 14, slowed the momentum with two free throws to make it 60-55.

Drives by Lowe and Harris made it 60-59, then Lowe made four straight free throws to put UMass ahead 63-60 with 2:52 left.

The Minutemen made their free throws down the stretch to hold on.

``I think guys just realized this was really our last home game. We couldn't lose this game and we didn't want to lose this game, especially the seniors,'' said Gary Forbes, who scored 11 and had a team-high nine rebounds.

UMass opened a 27-16 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first half. The Zips cut that to 34-31 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 13-5 run for a 44-39 lead.

Wood, who had 18 of his 25 points in the second half, led the way as the Zips stretched their lead to 58-46.

``At the end of the game I thought we were just tired. It was kind of like being caught between a rock and a hard place,'' Akron coach Keith Dambrot said.