UMass Survives At Buffalo
After blowing a 20-point lead, the Minutemen dug out a 68-67 win at Buffalo on Friday night.
UMass survived a second-half Buffalo surge to win 68-67 on the road Friday night. Leonardo Bettiol and Daniel Hankins-Sanford’s late-game heroics delivered yet another close victory for the Minutemen.
UMass entered the contest having won three of its last four games, all by single digits. Buffalo came in on a four-game losing streak, with its last win coming Jan. 3 against Ball State.
The Bulls responded throughout the night, led by junior guard Ryan Sabol’s 27 points. However, his effort wasn’t enough to overcome Marcus Banks Jr.’s 19 points, Bettiol’s 16 points and late-game heroics, or Hankins-Sanford’s 15 points and 10 rebounds.
UMass led 50-38 with 13:12 remaining, but a rapid 24-3 Buffalo run put the Minutemen down seven. UMass clawed its way back and won the game down the stretch.
With 80 seconds remaining, the score was tied at 65 and Buffalo had possession. Daniel Freitag brought the ball up in front of a loud home crowd, found Sabol and set a quick screen to disrupt defender Jayden Ndjigue. Sabol rose from the right elbow and hit back iron, but Freitag dove in to finish the possession with an emphatic put-back layup.
The Minutemen needed a response.
Head coach Frank Martin put the ball in Bettiol’s hands with his team down two. The Italian center caught it at the top of the key guarded by Ezra McKenna, attacked the lane, drove past McKenna’s right hip and finished through contact. Bettiol converted the free throw to complete the three-point play and give UMass a 68-67 lead.
Buffalo had two opportunities with a minute remaining and on the final possession, but Freitag came up empty on both. Strong defense from K’Jei Parker on the final play made life difficult for the Buffalo guard and sealed another Minutemen victory.
UMass outrebounded Buffalo by eight and led for more than 31 minutes, setting the tone early.
Both teams opened with similar offensive production. Noah Batchelor scored Buffalo’s first five points, while Bettiol led UMass with its first four. The Minutemen held a one-point lead through the first three minutes.
UMass extended the advantage with a top-of-the-key three from Banks Jr. off a clean feed from Ndjigue. Danny Carbuccia added two more points minutes later with a nifty finish at the rim, and Bettiol and Hankins-Sanford each knocked down jumpers to push the lead to eight.
Batchelor answered with four quick points, but UMass responded with a fiery 15-0 run. During the stretch, Banks Jr. and Wimbley Jr. knocked down shots from beyond the arc, while Luka Damjanac and Ndjigue continued the attack at the rim. With nine minutes remaining in the half, UMass led 30-11.
Buffalo stayed resilient, piecing together a 7-3 run behind a three-pointer and strong finishes from Freitag, but the Minutemen maintained control. Banks Jr. connected from deep again and Ndjigue capped an impressive first half with another crafty layup.
The Bulls trimmed the deficit to single digits heading into the break on a late three from Sabol.
Banks Jr. and Batchelor led their respective teams in scoring at halftime. Bettiol had seven points and six rebounds, while Ndjigue added five points and strong defensive play.
UMass let the lead slip away in the second half but closed strong to earn another narrow win and improve to 13-8.
UMass returns to action Tuesday on the road at Miami-Ohio, with tipoff scheduled for 9 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPNU.
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