University of Massachusets Athletics
Friday, October 23
Lavietes Pavilion | Cambridge, Mass.
7:00 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
82
at
74
Harvard (EXH)
October 23, 2026 | Men's Basketball
UMass finished its exhibition schedule 3-0 with wins over Rhode Island, Brown and Harvard
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Massachusetts men's basketball team jumped out to a 10-0 lead just 2:01 in, which was a sign of things to come as the Minutemen fought off numerous Harvard charges to defeat the Crimson, 82-74, in their exhibition finale on Friday evening. Junjie Wang led the Minutemen in scoring for a second straight game, scoring 16 points.
In total, four UMass players scored in double figures, with 11 of the 12 players who saw action knocking down a field goal. Cheick Sylla finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting while Jordan Clayton and Dwayne Wimbley Jr. each scored 10.
Jason Singleton led Harvard with 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting.
Heimir Helgason scored seven points, knocking down both 3-pointers attempted while Rollie Castineyra did the same, going 2-for-2 (both threes) and finishing with six points.
The UMass lead reached as much as 16 midway through the second half before Harvard pulled as close as three, but the Minutemen immediately responded to put the game away.
Breaking Down the Action
The Minutemen came out on fire, scoring 10 points in the game's first 2:01, seven of them scored by Wang and the other coming from a Clayton 3-pointer.
Harvard had an immediate answer, staging a 17-0 run to take a 17-10 lead after a Singleton driving layup with 14:15 on the clock.
A 9-2 UMass run, capped off by a layup from Dimitri Clerc, evened the score at 19. The Crimson retook a 21-19 lead, but three lead changes a few minutes later ended with the Minutemen ahead by four. A Sylla layup and Castineyra 3-pointer made it 27-23 with 8:55 on the clock.
The back-and-forth play continued through much of the rest of the half. But with UMass down 34-32, the Minutemen ended the half on a 12-2 run, beginning with a Wimbley Jr. 3-point play. UMass led 44-36 at the half.
Carbuccia scored five points in the first two possessions of the second half for a 49-36 lead, making it a 17-2 run since the end of the first half. The Crimson pulled back within six at 52-46, but UMass scored 17 of the next 23 points as a Noa Zemljic 3-pointer gave the Minutemen their largest lead, 69-53, with 9:16 remaining.
The Crimson had one last run in them, staging a 14-1 run to pull within 70-67. But on the next two possessions, offensive rebounds and putbacks from Abdullah Ahmed and Wang, then a Clayton fastbreak layup, made the score 76-69. A Clayton 3-pointer following a timeout gave the Minutemen a 79-69 lead and they wouldn't look back.
Numbers to Know
In total, four UMass players scored in double figures, with 11 of the 12 players who saw action knocking down a field goal. Cheick Sylla finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting while Jordan Clayton and Dwayne Wimbley Jr. each scored 10.
Jason Singleton led Harvard with 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting.
Heimir Helgason scored seven points, knocking down both 3-pointers attempted while Rollie Castineyra did the same, going 2-for-2 (both threes) and finishing with six points.
The UMass lead reached as much as 16 midway through the second half before Harvard pulled as close as three, but the Minutemen immediately responded to put the game away.
Breaking Down the Action
The Minutemen came out on fire, scoring 10 points in the game's first 2:01, seven of them scored by Wang and the other coming from a Clayton 3-pointer.
Junjie Wang leading the way with seven points as UMass leads Harvard 29-26 with 8:00 left in the first half! ?? https://t.co/bHISAtDDKS ?? https://t.co/E0JiVEBUQB #Flagship ?? https://t.co/YYQKqD63lW
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) October 23, 2026
Harvard had an immediate answer, staging a 17-0 run to take a 17-10 lead after a Singleton driving layup with 14:15 on the clock.
A 9-2 UMass run, capped off by a layup from Dimitri Clerc, evened the score at 19. The Crimson retook a 21-19 lead, but three lead changes a few minutes later ended with the Minutemen ahead by four. A Sylla layup and Castineyra 3-pointer made it 27-23 with 8:55 on the clock.
The back-and-forth play continued through much of the rest of the half. But with UMass down 34-32, the Minutemen ended the half on a 12-2 run, beginning with a Wimbley Jr. 3-point play. UMass led 44-36 at the half.
Elite finish by Dwayne Wimbley Jr. ?? ?? https://t.co/bHISAtDDKS ?? https://t.co/E0JiVEBUQB #Flagship ?? https://t.co/FwK2qNldw9
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) October 23, 2026
Carbuccia scored five points in the first two possessions of the second half for a 49-36 lead, making it a 17-2 run since the end of the first half. The Crimson pulled back within six at 52-46, but UMass scored 17 of the next 23 points as a Noa Zemljic 3-pointer gave the Minutemen their largest lead, 69-53, with 9:16 remaining.
The Crimson had one last run in them, staging a 14-1 run to pull within 70-67. But on the next two possessions, offensive rebounds and putbacks from Abdullah Ahmed and Wang, then a Clayton fastbreak layup, made the score 76-69. A Clayton 3-pointer following a timeout gave the Minutemen a 79-69 lead and they wouldn't look back.
Numbers to Know
- UMass shot 46.7% from the floor (28-of-60), including 52.9% from 3-point range (9-of-17).
- Harvard finished at 46.4% (26-of-56) and 39.1% from behind the arc (9-of-23).
- The Minutemen held a 36-34 edge in rebounds.
- UMass held a slim 34-30 edge in points in the paint and 24-21 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Minutemen open the season on Monday, Nov. 2 at defending Sun Belt champion Troy.
Players Mentioned
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