UMass Gets First MAC Win Over Ball State
The Minutemen beat Ball State 79-71 on Saturday to register their first league win of the year.
AMHERST, Mass. — UMass secured its first MAC win of the season Saturday afternoon, outlasting Ball State 79-71 at the Mullins Center thanks to a balanced performance across the lineup.
Forward Leonardo Bettiol led the way with 20 points, going 7-for-9 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line while adding eight rebounds, three assists and a steal in perhaps his most complete outing of the season.
Guard Marcus Banks Jr. scored 17 points, including 16 in the second half, as UMass slowly built separation following a tight first half.
Guard K’Jei Parker and forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford also played key roles, with Parker contributing 14 points and Hankins-Sanford finishing with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year.
Guard Danny Carbuccia led the Minutemen with six assists.
The Cardinals (4-12, 0-4 MAC) were led by Davion Hill, who scored 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting and added seven rebounds. Armoni Zeigler and Preston Copeland each finished with 12 points, with Zeigler dishing out six assists.
UMass (10-7, 1-4 MAC) controlled the action for much of the afternoon after a closely contested first half.
The Minutemen led 28-25 at intermission and opened the second half with steady offense that included timely threes from Banks Jr. and consistent interior play from Bettiol.
After Ball State led several minutes into the second half, UMass grabbed the lead for good with a three-pointer by Isaiah Placide with 13:29 left to make it 39-38. That bucket sparked a stretch where UMass gradually built a lead and never trailed again.
With just over three minutes remaining, Banks Jr. hit consecutive three-pointers to push the UMass lead to 69-58. That run gave the Minutemen clear separation and forced Ball State to play catch-up in the closing moments, which it never could.
UMass out-rebounded Ball State 36-28 and finished with 19 assists as a team.
After jumping into the MAC win column, the Minutemen will look to build momentum in league play. The victory snapped a stretch of close league losses and gave UMass its most complete performance since conference action began.
UMass will return to road action on Tuesday at Western Michigan with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. and streamed on ESPN+.
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Strong breakdown on Bettiol's efficency game here. The 7-9 shooting splits combined with playmaking feels like the kind of balanced output that can stablize a lineup when conference play tightens. I've noticed with smaller confernces that the first MAC win often shifts locker room momentum more than people expect.