UMass goes cold in loss to College of Charleston – Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Down in the steamy hot Caribbean, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team went ice cold in the clutch and fell 69-65 against College of Charleston on Friday evening. UMass (3-2) made just two field goals in the final 5:45, leading it to defeat in the first round of the Paradise Jam.

The Cougars (3-3) connected on just three 3-pointers all game, but the Minutemen were foul-happy and gifted their opponents free trips to the charity stripe. UMass collected 27 personal fouls in the contest, which is certainly never a recipe for winning basketball games. College of Charleston took advantage by nailing 24 of its 29 attempted free throws.

On the other end, the Minutemen’s season-long free throw struggles compounded. Leonardo Bettiol and Daniel Hankins-Sanford both missed the front ends of one-and-ones in the final four minutes. Cougars forward Will Mortimore lowered his elbow into Bettiol’s back moments later — a foul that was upgraded to a flagrant one. Bettiol proceeded to miss the latter of the ensuing free throws, one that would’ve cut the deficit to one possession, and soon fouled out of the game himself.

“If we’re not [going to] attempt free throws, we gotta make the ones we shoot,” head coach Frank Martin said.

Automatically blaming free throws can be seen as a cop-out for UMass’ loss, but the problem keeps manifesting. Martin’s team made five more baskets, four more 3-pointers, grabbed 10 more rebounds — including a 10-3 advantage on the offensive glass — and still fell short thanks to its 6-of-13 shooting from the line. The Minutemen are now 76-of-124, or 61.3%, as a team through five games.

Charleston handed its opponent opportunities to pull away on a silver platter, but it never capitalized and the score stayed tight throughout the entire game. UMass conceded zero points for the first 4:24, but only built up a 7-0 lead in that span and trailed less than five minutes later. The Cougars also failed to score a field goal for over six minutes at the end of the first half, yet they still held a 29-28 lead at the break.

For the second straight game, Marcus Banks Jr. couldn’t get his 3-point shot going. He’s now 14-of-40 from beyond the arc on the season, still good for 35%. Despite his long-range shortcomings, the senior found different ways to get involved, showcasing an array of floaters and tough buckets closer to the rim. He led all scorers with 18 points.

Another major area of concern for the Minutemen is their contributions coming off the bench. Martin’s squad has now lost the bench points battle in every game this season. Danny Carbuccia played 23 minutes and scored six points, which accounted for over half of his team’s bench points on the night. The freshman is the only non-starter thus far who has proven to be worthy of extended playing time.

With the loss, UMass will move into the loser’s bracket and head straight back into action on Saturday, Nov. 22. After Yale won the corresponding game in the bracket, the Minutemen will go up against head coach Doug Gottlieb’s Green Bay Phoenix. Tipoff in the Virgin Islands is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. UMass will then play one final Paradise Jam game on Monday, Nov. 24, with later results determining its opponent.

Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.