UMass Falls 99-92 At Akron
The Minutemen drop to 6-7 in league play.
UMass pushed Akron deep into the final minute Friday night, but the Minutemen could not overcome the Zips’ free throw advantage in a 99-92 loss at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron.
The Minutemen fell to 15-11 overall and 6-7 in Mid-American Conference play, while Akron improved to 20-5 and 11-1 in league action.
K’Jei Parker led UMass with 20 points, going 5-for-10 from three. Marcus Banks Jr., battling foul trouble, finished with 18 points. Leonardo Bettiol added 18 and Danny Carbuccia chipped in 13 as four Minutemen reached double-figures.
Tavari Johnson paced Akron with a game-high 23 points. The Zips went 38-for-43 at the free throw line, a decisive factor in a physical contest where the Minutemen were just 11-for-17 from the line.
UMass opened with energy as Jayden Ndjigue drilled a three to give the Minutemen a 7-3 lead at the 17:37 mark. Akron answered with a 15-0 run to take control before a Bettiol layup stopped the surge at 21-11.
Parker and Banks kept the Minutemen within striking distance. Back-to-back threes from the duo tightened the gap to 34-28 with 5:30 remaining in the first half. Banks connected again from deep to cut it to 34-33, and Parker tied the game at 39-39 with a three at the two-minute mark.
Bettiol’s layup with 1:35 left gave UMass a brief 41-39 edge. The Minutemen led 43-41 in the closing seconds before Akron hit a buzzer-beating three to take a 44-43 advantage into halftime.
UMass shot 57.4 percent from the field, finishing 35-for-61, and outscored Akron 32-24 in the paint. Banks scored 10 in the first half, while Bettiol added 12 before the break.
The Minutemen stayed within a possession early in the second half. A Banks pull-up jumper cut the deficit to 48-47 at 17:48. Akron responded with an and-one to push its lead to 51-47.
Following a lengthy review at 16:26, the teams combined for six fouls in a sequence that included a flagrant foul being assessed to Akron’s Evan Mahaffey, who was also ejected.
Parker trimmed the margin to 56-53 with another three at 15:21, and Banks answered a Zips three with one of his own at 12:22 to make it 66-63.
Another Banks triple at 8:53 brought UMass within 75-70. Carbuccia’s driving layup cut the lead to 88-81 with 4:18 remaining, and his three-pointer with 58 seconds left made it 96-90.
Akron closed the game at the free throw line to seal the seven-point win.
The loss keeps UMass outside the top half of the MAC standings with five league games remaining. The top eight teams qualify for the MAC Tournament in March.
What’s next: The Minutemen return home to face No. 23 Miami-Ohio on Tuesday, February 17 at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center. Miami-Ohio is the last remaining undefeated team in Division I.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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