Massachusetts Men’s Basketball Edges Out Buffalo On The Road

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team came up with several clutch possessions down the stretch to edge Buffalo 68-67 on Friday night at Alumni Arena (2,310).

Graduate student Marcus Banks Jr., scored a team-leading 19 points for the Minutemen (13-8, 4-5 MAC), knocking down four three-pointers on the night. Leonardo Bettiol followed with 16 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford registered his eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 10 boards, as the senior forward went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Bettiol also tallied seven rebounds, as Danny Carbuccia dished out six assists.

For Buffalo (13-7, 3-5 MAC), Ryan Sabol put up a game-best 27 points, with Daniel Freitag contributing 18 points and Noah Batchelor scoring 16 points. Mikhail Pocknett had six boards, as Freitag had seven assists.

The Minutemen have now won four of their last five games and will play at 25th-ranked Miami (Ohio) next Tuesday night.

How It Happened

Danny Carbuccia, Marcus Banks Jr., Jayden Ndjigue, Leonardo Bettiol, and Daniel Hankins-Sanford started the contest for the Minutemen.
Bettiol scored the first two baskets for UMass, Carbuccia grabbed a steal and a layup and then Banks Jr., added a three at 16:47 for a 9-5 lead.
The Minutemen were outrebounding Buffalo 7-1 in the early going, including a 4-0 edge on the offensive glass.
Ndjigue had a tough finish in the paint against contact, giving UMass a 17-11 lead at the 14:00 minute mark.
A Dwayne Wimbley Jr. three pushed the lead to 22-11 at 12:06.
Banks Jr., nailed a three at 8:53 to cap what turned out to be a 15-0 run, moving the lead to 30-11.
The Bulls fought back to make it a 35-20 game at the 4:00 minute mark,
Banks Jr. hit a jumper with 35 seconds left in the half, but Buffalo's Ryan Sabol made a three on the other end to cut the UMass lead to 38-29 at the half.
A Ndjigue block led to a Banks Jr. layup and a 43-32 lead at 18:28 of the second half.
Banks Jr. hit his fourth three of the game for a 50-38 lead at 13:12.
Sabol hit back-to-back buckets for Buffalo to move it to 50-43 in favor of the Minutemen at 11:34.
Buffalo cut it to 54-51 at 9:07 and then Sabol made two free throws at 8:22 to make it a one-point game, 54-53.
The Bulls then hit a three for their first lead of the night, 56-54, at 7:43.
Bettiol converted a layup to stop the Bulls' run but UMass trailed 61-56 with 4:30 to play.
Hankins-Sanford and Sabol traded threes, with Buffalo remaining in front 63-59 with 3:40 to play.
Ndjigue tied it 63-63 at the 2:17 mark.
Hankins-Sanford was sent to the line, tying the game at 65-65 with 1:32 remaining.
Bettiol's layup made it 67-67 with one minute left and hit a free throw to take the lead back 68-67.
Buffalo received the ball with 10 seconds left on the clock, but missed a jumper as UMass picked up the defensive rebound with time expiring to hold on to the 68-67 victory.

Numbers To Know

3: Three Minutemen recorded double-digit points on the night - Marcus Banks Jr. (19), Leonardo Bettiol (16) and Daniel-Hankins-Sanford (15).
8: Daniel Hankins-Sanford recorded his eighth double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
12: Crashing the boards, UMass grabbed 12 offensive rebounds.
20: Massachusetts led by 20, marking the largest lead of the game that came in the first half at 7:32.
36: The Minutemen outrebounded the Bulls, 36-28.
62.5: UMass shot 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from the free throw line.

Up Next

The Minutemen will play on the road for the fourth time in a five-game stretch, traveling to face 25th-ranked Miami (Ohio) at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The game will be televised on ESPNU with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard