UMass Hoops Hang On Against WMU
The Minutemen escaped Western Michigan with an 85-82 win on Tuesday night.
UMass registered its first road victory in MAC play beating Western Michigan 85-82 on Tuesday evening.
The Minutemen turned the ball over early, but responded in the second half on offense through a combined 63 points from the trio of Marcus Banks Jr., Leonardo Bettiol and K’Jei Parker.
The Minutemen came into the contest fresh off of their first MAC victory against Ball State on Saturday, and looked to continue their momentum on the road in Kalamazoo. The Broncos came off a resounding victory against in-state rivals Eastern Michigan over the weekend.
Despite Western Michigan’s momentum, UMass’ stars came through down the stretch with the game in the balance.
With less than 30 seconds left, the Minutemen led 80-78 with the ball in their hands. Banks Jr. had it on the wing farthest away from head coach Frank Martin’s bench. The graduate student dished it off to Daniel Hankins-Sanford, who cycled it to Parker.
The JUCO transfer got a fake screen from Bettiol who cut to the basket, catching both Broncos defenders snoozing. Parker found Bettiol who got fouled at the rim by Western Michigan’s Brady Swartz.
The Italian couldn’t finish through the contact, but did drain two free throws to extend the lead to two possessions with the shot clock turned off.
Swartz responded out of the Broncos’ timeout with an acrobatic layup over the looming Hankins-Sanford, but with another two-point lead and the ball, the Minutemen executed.
Bettiol found a sprawling Parker on the inbound who was fouled immediately. The Florida native knocked down both free throws to once again extend the lead to multiple possessions with just over 10 seconds left in the game.
Western Michigan put the ball in the hands of its star, Justice Williams, who squandered it at half court. Jayden Ndjigue dove on it, forcing a jump ball with 4.5 seconds left in the game. The possession arrow favored the Broncos, which Williams took advantage of with a layup to cut the deficit down to two. However, with less than a second left, the Minutemen won the game off of a final free throw from Banks Jr. completing his fabulous night.
Banks Jr. finished with 22 points on 8-18 shooting and Bettiol added 21 on 7-10 from the field while Parker put in 20 of his own, making 6-11, including 4-7 from three.
Williams scored 29 points on 10-13 shooting for Western Michigan, but it wasn’t enough to stop UMass’ three-headed monster.
The Minutemen outscored the Broncos in second-chance points and points in the paint, which made the difference in a heavily contested game that was physical from the start.
Banks Jr. began the game with a three off of a Broncos turnover. However, Western Michigan responded back with a 6-0 run led by buckets from Trey Lewis and Declan Peterson early.
The next four minutes consisted of back and forth basketball with the score tied up at 18 with 11:43 left to go in the first half.
Despite two straight triples from Parker, the Minutemen couldn’t build their momentum into a lengthy lead. Every time UMass would convert, the Broncos would respond with either a strong layup in traffic or an acrobatic jumper.
The game was tied once again 30-30 with 2:35 left to go with Parker and Bettiol keeping the Minutemen offense in the contest.
In the final minutes of the half, Parker and Williams traded makes from beyond the arc, while Dwayne Wimbley Jr. and Jayden Brewer swapped successful finishes around the rim.
UMass led 36-35 going into the half, courtesy of Parker’s 11 points off the bench. He hit three triples on four attempts. Turnovers were a big factor in letting the Broncos hang around, though. Western Michigan scored eight points on six opponent turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Minutemen shifted the narrative in the second half, only committing four turnovers.
Despite 14 lead changes, UMass led most of the way, hitting big free throws down the stretch.
UMass will look to continue its momentum in DeKalb, Ill. on Saturday against Northern Illinois with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m. and streamed on ESPN+.
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