Massachusetts Falls at Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Massachusetts men's basketball team (15-15, 6-11 MAC) staged a 17-0 first-half run to open a 15-point lead, but Bowling Green (17-14, 8-9 MAC) outscored the Minutemen 53-25 in the second half to pull away for the 81-62 win on Saturday afternoon. Leonardo Bettiol led the offense with 24 points and nine rebounds while Dwayne Wimbley Jr. scored a career-high 10 points in his first-career start.

Bettiol shot 9-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Marcus Banks Jr. also scored 10 points, but shot just 4-of-15 from the floor.

Javonte Campbell led Bowling Green with 20 points.

The Minutemen are still very much in the hunt for a MAC Tournament spot, should they beat Ohio in their regular season finale next Tuesday at home.

Breaking Down the Action

Danny Carbuccia, Banks Jr., Bettiol, Jayden Ndjigue and Wimbley Jr. started for the Minutemen.
Banks knocked down two 3-pointers in the first 5:18 of action to help UMass to an early lead.
After an early 5-3 lead, a 7-0 Minutemen run, capped off by Banks' second three, made the score 10-5 in favor of the visitors.
The Falcons immediate staged a 10-2 run, beginning with a Josiah Shackelford three, to take a 15-12 lead.
The Minutemen responded with a 17-0 run, a run that included a trio of three-pointers – from Carbuccia, K'Jei Parker and Isaiah Placide. Five different UMass players scored as part of the run.
A Carbuccia steal and layup capped off the run, giving UMass a 29-15 lead with 5:12 on the clock.
Bowling Green responded with 12 of the next 16 points to pull within 33-27 with 1:19 on the clock after a Javon Ruffin three-point play.
But UMass scored four of the final five points of the half, all from Bettiol, to take a 37-28 halftime lead.
Bowling Green got off to a fast start in the second half, beginning the stanza with a 14-4 run to take its first lead at 42-41 with 12:48 on the clock.
A Placide three-pointer just 20 seconds later gave UMass the lead back, but the Falcons' Campbell quickly answered seven seconds later with a layup to even the score at 44.
Over the ensuing minutes, the score was tied at 46 and 48.
A Wimbley Jr. layup gave UMass a 52-51 lead, but Bowling Green responded with a trio of three-pointers. Justin Thomas began and ended it, as his triple with 7:24 remaining gave the Falcons a 60-52 lead, forcing a Minutemen timeout.
Bowling Green scored the next eight points after the timeout to extend its run to 17-0, opening a 68-52 advantage.
UMass could never get back into it, with the deficit reaching as much as 20 (79-59) on the way to the 81-62 final.

Numbers To Know

10: Coming in his first-career start, Wimbley Jr. scored a career-high 10 points.
56: The number of points Bettiol scored against Bowling Green this season after 24 on Saturday. He had 32 in the first meeting.
17: Each team had a 17-0 run on Saturday.
19: UMass' largest margin of defeat this season and only second time the Minutemen have lost by double figures this year.

Up Next

The Minutemen return home for their regular season finale when they host Ohio at 7 p.m. 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

Dwayne Wimbley Jr.

Marcus Banks Jr.

Danny Carbuccia

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Jayden Ndjigue

K'Jei Parker

Isaiah Placide

Dwayne Wimbley Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics