ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – In its second overtime game of the season, UNC Greensboro (UNCG) fell to the University of Massachusetts with a score of 93-90 in the Jersey Mike's Classic for its first loss of the season.
For the second-straight game, first-year head coach
Mike Jones utilized his bench as all 11 players each contributed to an unbelievable fight. With the loss, the Spartans now have matched their best start since the 1982-83 season.
This was the first meeting between Spartans and the Minutemen.
This is the most points scored by UNCG since February 9, 2020 when it defeated Samford 95-67 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Graduate student
De'Monte Buckingham registered his first double-double of the season, while three other Spartans reached double-digit points.
Records
UNCG 4-1
UMass 3-2
How It Happened
- UNCG kicked off the game with a huge 13-0 run.
- The Minutemen hit their first basket of the game with 15:16 left on the clock, 13-3.
- UMass followed that basket with an 11-2 run, 15-11, before JC Tharrington adding UNCG's second three of the game at 12:14, 18-11.
- The Minutemen tied the game at 20 with 9:37 remaining on their fifth three-pointer of the game.
- The Spartans continued to fight as the two battled until the end of the half.
- Dante Treacy slid through the paint for his third score of the game with six seconds remaining, 35-32.
- UMass got situated and Noah Fernandes banked the Minutemen's ninth shot behind the arc sending the two teams to the locker room tied, 35-35.
- With 7:45 remaining in the second half, the Minutemen took on a 13-point lead, 66-53.
- Buckingham tied the game at 71 with two free throws and 1:42 left.
- Langley put away his second three of the game with 4 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, 78-78.
- With a reverse layup, Dante Treacy tied the game, 83-83, with 2:44 left, for the ninth knotted score of the game.
- Both teams were in foul trouble and free throws were exchanged during the frame.
- UNCG came within one, 89-88, but UMass prevailed and held on to the lead for the remainder of the time, 93-90.
By the Numbers
- Graduate student De'Monte Buckingham tallied a game-high 12 rebounds, matching his season best, and 14 points for his first double-double of the season.
- This is his third-straight game with double-digit boards.
- Graduate student Kaleb Hunter tallied a season-high 18 points, shooting 4-for-6 behind the arc.
- Bas Leyte notched a career-best 10 rebounds.
- Dante Treacy recorded a season-high 16 points.
- Mohammed Abdulsalam chipped in a season-high 14 points.
- UNCG outrebounded UMass 43-21.
- The Spartans recorded a 54.2 field goal percentage and a 47.1 three-point percentage outmatching the Minutemen's 43.1 field goal percentage and 40.5 three-point percentage.
- UNCG had 17 second-chance points and 16 fast-break points.
Final Word
UNCG head coach Mike Jones on the battle
"Just like every other game we played this year, just an overall great game. Our guys came out of the gates a lot better than they have in previous games. They responded. We responded and then they responded. It was back and forth, and it ended up being a game that was a lot of fun. We came out on the short end, but I liked the way our guys competed and battled. Through all the adversity we faced in the game, we gave ourselves a chance to win it right down to the end."
On getting through foul trouble
"You have to adjust to referees' calls during the game and both sides had to. Guys came off the bench and gave us some good minutes. It is all about our fundamentals on both sides of the ball, whether it is offensively, doing what we are supposed to do, executing the play the right way, or making the right read or defensively, making the switches when we need to or being there on rotations. I think the game came down to that. When you are in a one- or two-possession game, those things are magnified and if you make a mistake and the other team makes a bucket, it feels a lot worse. But we just have to clean those up and be consistent with our fundamentals on both sides of the ball."
On the upcoming game against FIU
"We get a day off, let our guys heal a little bit, and then face a tough opponent coming up in FIU. They press 94-feet for the whole game, so this will be different from anything we have faced so far this year and it will be a good opportunity for our guys to learn from this situation and hopefully help us when we face an opponent like that in the Southern Conference."
Up Next
UNCG closes out the Jersey Mike's Classic with a 5:00 p.m. tip off against Florida International University on Sunday, November 21 at Eckerd College. The game will be streamed on Pluto TV.
