UMass Falls Short to Toledo in MAC Semifinals

CLEVELAND - Massachusetts men's basketball (17-16, 7-11 MAC) fell to Toledo (18-14, 11-7 MAC), 77-67, at Rocket Arena in the MAC Semifinals on Friday. The Minutemen battled back from an early 11-point deficit, but they shot just 41.3% from the floor, struggles shooting, 19.0% from three and 52.4% from the free throw line, which kept the game out of reach for UMass.

Massachusetts was led offensively by Leonardo Bettiol with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds on an efficient 8-12 from the field.

First-year point guard Danny Carbuccia added 11 points and five assists, Marcus Banks Jr. scored nine points on three three-pointers and Dimitri Clark chipped in seven points and six boards in 14 minutes off the bench.

The Rockets' balanced offensive attack fueled Toledo, with the trio of Sonny Wilson (18 points), Mynor Strong (17) and Sean Craig (15) netting 15 points or more.

Breaking Down the Action

Carbuccia, Daniel Hankins-Sanford, Bettiol, Jayden Ndjigue and Banks Jr. started for the Minutemen.

Toledo scored the game's first seven points, eventually opening a 13-2 advantage just over four minutes in.

UMass responded with nine of the next 12 points behind four different scorers. A three by Banks Jr. and layup from Hankins-Sanford pulled the Minutemen within five, 16-11, with 12:41 on the first-half clock.

The Rockets immediately responded with six straight points to go back up double figures at 22-11.

The Minutemen responded in a big way, staging a 16-4 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Isaiah Placide, followed by a Ndjigue steal and Carbuccia layup to give UMass its first lead at 27-26 with 6:04 on the clock.

After a Bettiol layup gave the Minutemen a 29-28 advantage, Toledo ended the half on a 15-5 run. A three from Leroy Blyden Jr. gave the Rockets a 43-34 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, UMass pulled within eight on multiple occasions, the last after a Hankins-Sanford layup pulled the Minutemen within 52-44.

However, not long after, six straight Toledo points gave the Rockets their largest lead at 61-46, forcing a Minutemen timeout with 13:25 on the clock.

UMass immediately responded with eight straight points, which featured a Clerc second-chance layup, Ndjigue three-point play, K'Jei Parker steal and layup, then Clerc free throw to pull within 61-54 with 10:10 remaining.

The Minutemen couldn't get any closer than seven over the ensuing minutes. But Toledo couldn't extend its lead past 12 as UMass hung around.

A Banks Jr. three-pointer rolled around and in with 3:32 on the clock to pull UMass within 62-54.

However, the UMass offense went cold over the ensuing minutes and scored just five points the rest of the way, as Toledo finished off the 77-67 win.

Numbers To Know

10: The Minutemen had 10 steals, their most since Feb. 3 against Central Michigan (nine games ago).

21: Bettiol recorded a game-high 21 points, his second straight game eclipsing 20 points and third in the last four.

42: UMass scored 42 points in the paint, compared to Toledo's 36.

67: Bettiol shot 67% during the game, going 8-of-12, to finish the season at 61.1% from the floor.

Scoreboard

Team Stats

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Marcus Banks Jr.

Jayden Ndjigue

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Danny Carbuccia

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

K'Jei Parker

Isaiah Placide

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics