Minutemen Grit Out Win Against The Rockets

AMHERST, Mass. -- The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team (12-8, 3-5 MAC) defeated Toledo (10-9, 4-3 MAC), 84-82, on Tuesday night at the Mullins Center.

Graduate student Leonardo Bettiol led the Minutemen with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Junior Jayden Ndjigue and senior Daniel Hankins-Sanford both collected double-doubles on the night. Both recorded 12 points against the Rockets, with Ndjigue grabbing 10 rebounds and Hankins-Sanford coming down with 11.

Marcus Banks Jr., added 15 points, three rebounds and a steal, as Danny Carbuccia led with a team-high nine assists.

For Toledo, Leroy Blyden Jr. put up 22 points and went 6-for-6 on the free throw line for the Rockets. Sonny Wilson (16), Austin Parks (14), Kyler Vanderjagt (12) and Sean Craig (12) all reached double figures.

How It Happened

Danny Carbuccia, Marcus Banks Jr., Jayden Ndjigue, Leonardo Bettiol, and Daniel Hankins-Sanford started the contest for the Minutemen.
The two teams traded a pair of layups early to make it a 6-6 game at the 17:26 mark.
Hankins-Sanford hit a turnaround jumper to give Massachusetts a slight 8-6 lead at 17:13.
Toledo's Sonny Wilson was sent to the free throw line, making one-of-two to make it a one-point game, 8-7.
A three-pointer from Banks Jr., at 16:42 pushed UMass ahead, 11-7.
After Carbuccia's missed shot, Bettiol collected it at the basket and put it away with a layup at 14:49 to make it a 13-9 lead.
Ndjigue made a second chance free throw at 13:33, but a jumper by Toledo cut the Minutemen's lead to three, 14-11.
Parkers shot beyond the arc to push Massachusetts to a six-point lead, 17-11, with 9:39 in the half.
Toledo went on a 6-0 run, tying with the Minutemen at 20-20 at the 8:15 mark.
The Rockets took the lead, 24-20, at 7:04 with back-to-back buckets from Kyler Vanderjagt
Parker responded with another triple for UMass, closing the gap to 27-26 with 6:09 left in the half.
Bettiol was sent to the charity stripe, knocking down both shots to bring the game to a 28-28 tie at 5:20.
Bettiol tied the game, 30-30, with 2:09 remaining in the first half with a layup.
With Toledo leading 32-30, Ndjigue made a shot from beyond the arc with 52 seconds left to reclaim the lead at 33-32.
Massachusetts pulled ahead, 35-32, at the 30 second mark with another Bettiol layup.
Entering halftime, Toledo's Vanderjagt made a stepback jumper at the buzzer, as UMass held on toa 35-34 lead.
Massachusetts added to its lead to start the second, putting up an eight point run, 43-38, that was capped by a Hankins-Sanford dunk at the 17:23 mark.
A bad pass by Toledo led to a Carbuccia steal and driving layup on the fast break to give the Minutemen a 45-40 lead at 15:45.
A pair of free throws and a hookshot jumper gave UMass a seven-point lead, 49-42 with 13:58 in the second.
Another steal and driving layup for Carbuccia put the lead up to 51-46 at the 12:39 mark.
Five straight points for the Rockets brought the game to a 51-51 tie with 11:32 remaining.
Massachusetts and Toledo traded three-pointers as the Minutemen held on to 58-54 lead at 9:56.
Marcus Banks Jr., knocked down all three shots at the free throw line, putting Massachusetts ahead 61-56, with 9:30 left.
Toledo made a triple to cut UMass' lead to two, but a Luke Damjanac layup extended the Minutemen, 63-59 with 8:47 on the clock.
At the free throw line, the Rockets tied the game up, 63-63, with 8:25 left.
Toledo claimed the lead, 67-65, with back-to-back pairs of free throws at the 6:24 mark.
Isaiah Placide knocked down his second triple of the night to put UMass back on top, 68-67, with 5:53 remaining.
A flagrant one foul on Toledo's Sean Craig sent Hankins-Sanford to the charity stripe, hitting both shots to lead 72-69 at the 3:58 mark.
The Minutemen took a five-point lead, 74-69, with a Banks Jr., jumper at 3:31.
After a Toledo three, Parker hit one of his own from the three-point arc at 1:21 of the game to push UMass ahead, 79-75.
Down the stretch, key free throws from Ndjigue and Banks Jr., gave Massachusetts an 83-79 lead with 26 seconds left on the clock.
Toledo put away a bucket with three seconds left to close the gap to two, 83-81.
Parker made one-of-two free throws to give UMass the 84-81 lead.
With one second on the clock, Toledo headed to the free throw line, as Vanderjagt only made one of his shots. Time expired as Massachusetts held on to the 84-72 victory.

Numbers To Know

4: Four Minutemen recorded double-digit points on the night- Leo Bettiol (20), Marcus Banks Jr. (15), Daniel Hankins-Sanford (12), and Jayden Ndjigue (12)
7: The largest lead of the game, recorded in the second half at 13:58
7: Daniel Hankins-Sanford recorded his seventh double-double of the year, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
8: The Minutemen recorded eight steals
10: Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Jayden Ndjigue recorded 10 rebounds, both reaching double-double status
66: Massachusetts went 66% from the charity stripe

Up Next

The Minutemen go on the road to play Buffalo at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Leonardo Bettiol

Marcus Banks Jr.

K'Jei Parker

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

Isaiah Placide

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics