UMass basketball: Minutemen prevail over BC in 76-74 nail-biter in Hall of Fame Classic

SPRINGFIELD — Before Wednesday night, it had been 11 years since the UMass basketball team faced off against Boston College. The Minutemen won the first matchup between the teams since 2014, in a 76-74 nail-biter at the MassMutual Center in the Hall of Fame Classic.

With the game tied at 74 and under 30 seconds to play, Eagles’ point guard Chase Forte drove to the hoop, drawing a shooting foul. He missed both of his free throws, with the roughly 6,000 fans in attendance getting as loud as they possibly could.

UMass got the ball back with 14.4 seconds on the clock, winding some time down before Marcus Banks Jr. rose up for a midrange jumper. The graduate was fouled on the shot, making both of his attempts from the charity stripe to give his team a two-point lead.

Forte received the inbound with 2.4 seconds remaining on the other end for Boston College, fading to his left on the left wing and clanking his shot off the front right of the rim.

The Minutemen held on to win, breathing a sigh of relief after giving up a 14-point lead they held midway through the second half.

“We got a little tentative, but somehow, some way, we locked in and figured out a way to win it at the end of the day,” UMass head coach Frank Martin said. “As we’re going through our growth as a team, it’s a lot better to win than lose. So it’s a great game, great atmosphere and [I’m] really happy for these guys.”

Boston College struggled offensively for the first two-thirds of Wednesday’s contest, finally picking things up in the second half. With the Minutemen up 54-40 at the 11:23 mark of the second half, the Eagles began to take over.

Nearly six minutes later, Boston College had gone on a 23-2 run, getting out to a 63-56 lead. The Eagles continuously got to the free-throw line, making seven attempts during that span.

Free throw shooting was the biggest discrepancy between the two teams on Wednesday night, with UMass going 13-of-24 (54%) from the line, while Boston College went 27-of-35 (77%) on its end.

Despite their lead being completely squandered, the Minutemen continued to battle. The team made their shots when it mattered most, finishing the night by hitting six shots in a row from the field.

“I had nothing to do [with the late game comeback],” Martin said. “It was all [the players]. All I did was call the plays. It was all them, that they kept their composure, and they handled that moment to get us back in the game.”

Banks Jr. made some big plays for his team down the stretch on both ends, finishing with a game-high 29 points along with seven rebounds.

The guard played 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, shooting an efficient 10-of-17 (59%) from the floor, and 6-of-10 from behind the three-point line.

Wednesday marked the third consecutive game that the graduate has led UMass in scoring, tying his season high in points against an in-state rival.

“It’s not necessarily me wanting to score, just whatever I got to do for this team to help, that’s what I’m [going to] do,” Banks Jr. said. “… It just so happens that scoring is where I’m displaying that at. It feels good, [it] just falls to the level of my preparation, behind closed doors, just playing with ultra confidence and doing whatever it takes for this team.”

Daniel Hankins-Sanford was another big contributor for the Minutemen against the Eagles, finishing his night with 17 points, three assists and two rebounds.

With most of the scoring coming from two players, UMass leaned on the rest of its guys to do the dirty work. Jayden Ndjigue and Dimitri Clerc were up to the task, each only scoring four points, but combining for 18 rebounds and playing great defense. Ndjigue’s performance featured six offensive rebounds, along with three blocks.

Fans of both Massachusetts schools had high hopes for Wednesday night’s battle, and it’s safe to say it lived up to the hype, and then some. With a competitive game that brought a good amount of attention to both teams, running the matchup back in the future seems like a no-brainer.

“[Massachusetts is] a basketball state,” Martin said. “Having your two big universities play each other, I think, is good for the state… The fact that this game was so good, hopefully, creates that kind of interest again.”

With the victory, UMass has now won four games in a row, looking to make it five this weekend against Florida State in the Orange Bowl Classic. Tipoff from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, is set for Saturday, Dec. 13, at noon.