The Massachusetts men’s basketball team opened the 2022 season with a 94-67 win over Central Connecticut State. UMass (1-0) shot 54 percent from the field, and 47 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils (0-1) struggled to convert against the Minutemen’s front court pressure.
The Minutemen started the game with an obvious size advantage, from their guards all the way down to their forwards. The Blue Devils tried to establish lanes to the rim but were met with towering contests from forwards Wildens Leveque and Isaac Kante. Physical presence and depth proved vital in improving UMass’ 8-point first half lead to 27 points by the end of the game, largely due to a 46-14 bench points advantage.
Still, the final score doesn’t reflect how close the game was at halftime. The visitors had a 33-29 lead with 3:09 left in the first half, but the hosts came back from the locker room with a different mindset.
“[My players] either got tired of me yelling at them or [of] number five [Kellen Amos] scoring. I don’t know which one it was,” head coach Frank Martin said. “It was one or the other and we got some stops defensively. And now we neutralize the point guard rather than let the point guard get wherever he wanted to. And then we converted some opportunities into baskets.”
UMass spread the floor to allow back-to-the-basket opportunities with efficient 3-point shooting, going 47.3 percent from downtown. CCSU tried to offset their rebounding disadvantage by launching 29 threes in the game and converting nine.
T.J. Weeks provided the Minutemen with 16 points and RJ Luis added 14 points of his own. Off the bench, Dyondre Dominguez had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Kante finished with 13 points and six boards.
The Blue Devils struggled to find a reliable way to score points to open up the game, until Amos began to wreak havoc, highlighted by a cradle slam on a fast break. He led the game with 24 points on 50 percent shooting, including 4-for-10 from three.
The Minutemen continued to apply pressure in the second half, attacking the rim relentlessly. Propelled by a burst from Dominguez, their lead ballooned to 32 points with 5:49 left to go in the game.
“I was real happy that when we were playing really bad in the first half, that we decided to go to the identity that we fought to create rather than go to the identity of blaming and hanging your head,” Martin said. “You only learn that in the middle of a game. You don’t learn that in the summer.
UMass outrebounded the Blue Devils into submission, tallying 48 rebounds to only 29. The Minutemen grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which contributed to 19 second-chance points. They bullied CCSU on 50-50 balls and limited open looks inside and out. After halftime, UMass increased its defensive intensity noticeably, tightening passing lanes and contesting layups at the rim.
Six Minutemen finished the game in double figures, and four others in the scoring column. They controlled the tempo throughout the evening, centered by a well-rounded performance by senior Noah Fernandes, who put up 11 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Keon Thompson added an important 10 to keep the game out of reach.
This win marks the first of Martin’s career at UMass, and he does not hide his enthusiasm about spearheading the program. “The players have been incredible, the people that I work with and for here have been incredible,” Martin said. “I absolutely love my staff. I’m having the time of my life right now.”
The Minutemen are back in action at home against Towson on Thursday, Nov. 10. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Judah Katz can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @judah_katz.
