AMHERST – The UMass men’s basketball needed more from its top players if the Minutemen were going to give the Mullins Center contingent a reason to storm the court Tuesday night.
Miami (Ohio), the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, pulled away down the stretch to remain undefeated with an 86-77 victory in front of 7,524.
“To win these types of games your older players have to play well, and play well doesn’t mean score 35,” UMass coach Frank Martin said. “Play well means do the little things the right way. From the jump ball our older guys didn’t play well.”
The RedHawks closed the final 7 minutes on an 18-9 run to stay perfect. Miami (12-0 Mid-American Conference) is the last remaining unbeaten team in Division I at 26-0.
“It’s the elephant in the room and we talk about it as a team,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “I tell our guys to enjoy the ride, enjoy the moment, be present; not very often are you going to be in this position where, (26-0) it’s just incredible. It’s unique. Enjoy it, but at the same time … we have to be able to block out that noise, focus on the things we can control, which is embracing the process.”
Senior guard Peter Suder led Miami with 23 points. Sophomore guard Like Skaljac added 16 points and seven assists. Almar Atlason added 13 points off the bench, while Eian Elmer added 11 points.
“Our group of boys just kind of stays flatline,” Steele said. “We don’t get too high or too low. We’re unflappable. I think that’s what makes our group really good, especially in tight moments.”
Isaiah Placide came off the bench to pace UMass with 19 points on five 3-pointers. Placide hit four straight 3s and scored 13 points in the first half to spark the Minutemen.
Leonardo Bettiol finished with 18 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with just under three minutes to play and UMass down 82-73.
Danny Carbuccia had 15 points and six assists and Marcus Banks Jr. had 11 points.
Senior Daniel Hankins-Sanford was held to eight points and five rebounds, while junior guard Jayden Ndjigue played 13 minutes and was a non-factor due to foul trouble.
“It’s not a lack of desire, it’s not like they don’t care. I got good kids on this team,” Martin said. “They’re fun to be around, they practice the right way, they got good spirit, but in the end, let’s be honest, they’re getting paid to perform now. It’s no longer the let’s high-five the poor little scholarship guys that ate cold pizza for dinner. You got to perform. Some people might not like the truth of the reality of the moment, but that’s the reality of the moment.”
UMass kept within single digits of the RedHawks until a 12-4 run, capped by a Banks corner 3-pointer, midway through the second half tied the game at 60 with 10:22 left. Placide gave UMass its only lead a couple possessions later on a backdoor layup from Carbuccia. Placide then tied the game at 68 with a 3 with 7:02 remaining.
But with Bettiol on the bench with four fouls, Miami took control with an 8-2 run. The RedHawks then held UMass to four field goals down the stretch.
“From that point on we’re playing uphill and they’re not easy to play uphill against, especially that late in the game,” Martin said.
The nine-point loss was the 22nd time this season UMass fell by single digits. The Minutemen are 11-11 in those situations, including 6-7 in conference play.
“At this point it kind of sounds like a broken record but you have to figure it out,” Carbuccia said. “We know coming into games it’s going to be a close game, it’s going to come down to that last minute so we have to be able to execute offensively and defensively.”
UMass has lost three straight. The Minutemen host Buffalo at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We got to figure out a way to get a win now,” Martin said. “We’re not playing that bad, just disappointed in the last two games, the last three games. … We’ve had three hard games where we could very easily be 3-0, but we’re not. We’re 0-3, and it’s not the time of year you want to be on these losing streaks.”
UMass is 0-6 against ranked teams at the Mullins Center since it beat UConn on Dec. 9, 2004.
