University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
8-4,0-1MAC
Kent State
10-2,1-0MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent St. | 35 | 34 | 69 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 35 | 59 |
Massachusetts Basketball Falls To Kent State In MAC Opener
December 20, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Daniel Hankins-Sanford recorded his fourth double-double of the season.
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts men's basketball fell to Kent State, 69-59, in the Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center (3,104). The Minutemen cut a 14-point Kent State lead down to two late in the second half but were unable to complete the comeback. Â
Graduate student forward Leonardo Bettiol led the Minutemen with 14 points, while senior Daniel Hankins-Sanford posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds.  Â
Danny Carbuccia totaled four assists on the day and Jayden Ndjigue tallied four steals. Â
For Kent State, Delrecco Gillespie had a double-double with 18 points and 20 boards. Quinn Woidke and Rob Whaley Jr., contributed double figures with 19 and 10, respectively.Â
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Breaking Down the ActionÂ
- Danny Carbuccia, Leonardo Bettiol, Marcus Banks Jr., Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Jayden Ndjigue started for the Minutemen.Â
- Hankins-Sanford hit a three for an early 5-3 lead.Â
- A Dimitri Clerc dunk cut it to a 12-11 Kent State lead at 12:20 of the first half.Â
- Kent State extended its lead to 20-13 with seven minutes left before Isaiah Placide hit a three to make it 20-16.Â
- The Golden Flashes finished the first half with five three pointers en route to a 35-24 lead at the break.Â
- Bettiol and Hankins-Sanford made back-to-back buckets early in the second half to move the score to 35-28.Â
- A Rob Whaley Jr. free throw pushed the Kent State lead to 43-29 before Clerc completed an and-one to make it 43-32 at the 15 minute markÂ
- Bettiol hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 45-37 game with 12 minutes left. Â
- K'Jei Parker nailed a three at 9:08 to make it a three-point game, 47-44, and force a Kent State timeout. Â
- With the shot clock winding down, Banks Jr. hit a three to cut it to a 52-50 Kent State lead at 6:45.Â
- Whaley Jr. finished off a three –point play to give Kent State a 59-53 lead with three minutes left. Â
- Kent State then made free throws down the stretch to ice the win.  Â
Numbers To KnowÂ
- 14: Kent State's largest lead of the game was 14 in the second half, which the Minutemen cut to two.Â
- 12: Hankins-Sanford grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.Â
- 5: The lead changed five times during the contest.Â
- 2: Two Minutemen reached doubles figures: Leonardo Bettiol (14) and Daniel Hankins-Sanford (11).Â
Up Next Â
- The Minutemen play UMass Boston at noon on Monday, Dec. 22 at the Mullins Center (Tickets).Â
- The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).Â
