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Bonnies Upset No. 20 UMass

Right after Tim Winn let the 3-point shot go, he looked over toward his coaches and saw them grimacing.

Almost instantly, Winn's shot went through with 6.1 seconds left in double overtime to give St. Bonaventure a 72-70 victory over No. 20 Massachusetts on Wednesday night and erase those frowns from the coaching staff.

"I don't know how it looked from the bench," Winn said, "but it looked like a good shot from where I was."

Caswell Cyrus had 25 points and 13 rebounds for St. Bonaventure (16-12, 6-9 Atlantic 10), which beat a Top 25 team for the third time this season, all at home.

"It felt like a heavyweight fight that went 20 rounds," a relieved Bonnies coach Jim Baron said. "This is one of the greatest wins I've ever been associated with."

The last time St. Bonaventure beat the Minutemen was Jan. 8, 1989, a stretch of 20 games.

"I've been up here for a lot of Super Bowl Sundays where it's been 35 and 40 points (victories for UMass)," Minutemen coach Bruiser Flint said. "They've really gotten better. Now, they have good enough players to beat you."

Tied 64-64 going into the second overtime, two layups by Tyrone Weeks helped UMass (20-8, 12-3) take a four-point lead with 3:03 remaining.

St. Bonaventure's Rashaan Palmer responded with five straight points, including a free throw that gave the Bonnies a 69-68 lead with 51 seconds left.

Monty Mack hit a 17-foot jumper to give UMass a 70-69 lead with 19 seconds left. The Bonnies then handed the ball off to Winn to take the game-winning shot. Winn held the ball for 10 seconds before spotting up with six seconds remaining.

"Time was running down and we wanted to score any way we could," said Winn, who finished with 12 points.

UMass forced the second overtime when Lari Ketner, who finished with 18 points, dunked with 0.1 seconds left.

"The Bonnies played well," Flint said. "They deserved to win."

St. Bonaventure opened the game with a 7-0 run en route to a 35-24 halftime lead. UMass rallied to take a three-point lead late in regulation on a short jumper by Weeks, who finished with 21 points.

But the Minutemen scored only one point over the final two minutes of regulation, as two free throws by Cyrus and a layup by Palmer, who had 17 points, helped the Bonnies to tie it 57-57.

"As a coach, it's sometimes the things that are unpredictable that make it more exciting," Baron said.

©1998 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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