UMass Comes Up Just Short At Miami-OH

The Minutemen fell 86-84 to one of the last two undefeated teams in the country.

(UMass Athletics)

UMass came within a possession of knocking off one of the nation’s last undefeated teams Tuesday night, falling 86-84 at No. 24 Miami-Ohio in front of a sold-out Millett Hall.

The Minutemen led for much of the night and were still within one in the closing seconds, but the RedHawks held on after a frantic final stretch that featured late free throws, multiple stoppages and one final look that narrowly missed at the buzzer.

“I knew our guys were going to play hard,” UMass head coach Frank Martin said afterward. “I’m disappointed.”

Miami improved to 21-0 overall and 9-0 in the MAC, remaining as one of only two unbeaten teams in the nation along with #1 Arizona. The Minutemen fell to 13-9 overall and 4-6 in the MAC.

Graduate student Leonardo Bettiol turned in one of the strongest performances of his UMass career, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Bettiol finished 7-for-11 from the field and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line, keeping the Minutemen within striking distance throughout the final minutes.

“Leo was really good today,” Martin said. “He was aggressive. We were trying to get him the ball and you probably could have called a couple fouls when he’s trying to post up and they’re just pushing him and grabbing him. But the calls weren’t made and you’ve got to live with it.

“Nobody else on our team grabbed a single offensive rebound in the second half. Leo was the only one. That was part of our game plan going in is ‘We have to offensive rebound.’ And Leo was a one-man rebounding team. No one else grabbed an offensive rebound in the second half.”

UMass controlled the opening half and took a 47-43 lead into the locker room.

Marcus Banks Jr. set the tone early, knocking down four first-half three-pointers and helping the Minutemen build as much as a nine-point cushion. Daniel Hankins-Sanford added timely baskets inside and out, while Bettiol’s work on the glass gave UMass extra possessions with eight offensive rebounds in the game.

Miami-Ohio took control of the second half and finally pulled even midway through the stanza and ultimately took the lead at 68-67 on an Eian Elmer three-pointer with 8:40 to play.

The Minutemen did answer throughout the second half as Miami repeatedly pushed. A Banks Jr. jumper at the 4:30 mark tied the game 75-75, but the RedHawks finally created further separation on an Elmer jumper with 3:46 left to go up four.

Down 82-75 with just over two minutes remaining, UMass leaned on Bettiol at the free throw line. He converted four straight foul shots to trim the margin to three, and after a Miami miss, the Minutemen had another chance.

Trailing 85-81 with 8.8 seconds left, K’Jei Parker was fouled shooting a three and calmly knocked down all three free throws to cut it to one. Miami split a pair of free throws at the other end, setting up one final possession.

Isaiah Placide got a clean look from halfcourt as time expired, but the shot drifted just wide, sealing the narrow loss.

Banks Jr. finished with 18 points, going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc but fouled out late, while Hankins-Sanford added 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Parker reached double-figures with 10 points, and Danny Carbuccia handed out six assists.

Miami was led by Elmer’s 30 points. Justin Kirby and Peter Suder added 13 apiece, with Suder also dishing out nine assists.

UMass finished with a 34-32 rebounding edge, including 12 offensive boards, and shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line, but the Minutemen could not overcome Miami’s late execution.

UMass returns home Saturday to host Eastern Michigan at 6 p.m. at the Mullins Center. The game will serve as the Minutemen’s Coaches vs. Cancer contest and will air on ESPN+.

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