There’s 8:30 remaining in Tuesday’s game between the Massachusetts men’s basketball team and Ohio. Marcus Banks Jr. is not on the court. Leonardo Bettiol is not on the court. The game is tied at 63.
If you’re UMass (16-15, 7-11 Mid-American), what do you do? Your offense has struggled all season when your two top scorers are off the floor. Of the lineup head coach Frank Martin trotted out, only one player averaged over seven points per game. Keeping pace with the Bobcats’ (15-15, 9-8 MAC) respectable offense suddenly became a much tougher task.
This is where true freshman Danny Carbuccia comes in. The 5-foot-11 point guard has been the subject of Martin’s praises all season long, gradually improving on both ends in a campaign where bright spots have occasionally fallen by the wayside.
Carbuccia had five points with nine minutes to play. A minute and a half later, he had 11 points and the Minutemen remained in step with Ohio. Eventually, Banks Jr. came back in the game and took UMass across the finish line, guaranteeing it a spot in Cleveland. He was the closer, taking advantage of a situation steadied by the freshman guard.
“[Carbuccia] continues to grow,” Martin said. “His energy and his voice, along with [Banks Jr.], has taken over this team.”
It’s been no secret this season that Carbuccia isn’t the best shooter. With K’Jei Parker (42.3% on 3-pointers) and Banks Jr. (38.1%) often flanking the point guard, he doesn’t need to light it up from deep. The bulk of his scoring game lies in his finishing ability, and that’s where he was most successful against the Bobcats.
The first basket from Carbuccia in that late-game stretch came from a play where he showed zero hesitation. Charles Outlaw set a pick at the top of the key, and in an instant, the freshman attacked. He navigated his way around Ohio guard Jackson Paveletzke, and with no help defender arriving, he lofted up a floater that bounced in. No other Minuteman touched the ball past halfcourt on that possession; they didn’t need to.
The Bobcats responded quickly with an open layup, tying the contest back up. For the second UMass possession in a row, the ball was handled in the offensive end by Carbuccia and Carbuccia alone. This make was his prettiest of the bunch, as he eurostepped past Aidan Hadaway for a reverse layup.
At this point, the message to Ohio was clear. If the away team wanted to get and maintain a lead before the last few minutes, it needed to do a better job of sticking with the Minutemen’s point guard. One full media timeout later, that tip hadn’t been received by head coach Jeff Boals’ squad.
Now down one with the ball, UMass again had Carbuccia initiate its offense. Banks Jr., who was now back in the game, ran up to his point guard like he was about to set a screen. Preparing for contact, Paveletzke hesitated to move quickly, giving the ballhandler all the space he needed. There was no screen set, and with no defender in front of him, Carbuccia flashed to the rim for an easy two points.
That basket, scored at the 7:57 mark of the second half, was Carbuccia’s final made field goal of the game. From then on, the freshman took a back seat from a scoring standpoint, but he still popped in with a positive play every so often.
Surprisingly, within the final three minutes, it was Carbuccia’s defense that made a difference. The bright spot on that end for the freshman has been his one steal per night, and with the Minutemen up 12, he broke that mark with his second swipe. The ballhandler was Kiir Kuany, a wing who had no chance of hanging onto the ball with an unsuspecting Carbuccia coming in from behind him. Without warning, he coughed up the rock and any remaining chances the Bobcats had of winning the game.
Earlier on, the two points that gave the hosts the lead for good arrived off a Carbuccia-led fastbreak. With 6:20 remaining, the Yonkers, N.Y. native got the ball and worked quick, trotting from arc to arc until he found a cutting Luka Damjanac with a lofted pass. Damjanac’s layup was blocked, but the play was an obvious goaltend, leading to the game’s 15th and final lead change.
As UMass now waits for its quarterfinal opponent in the MAC Tournament, it’s a guarantee that Carbuccia will not face an easy matchup. The Minutemen will either face off against Akron and its All-MAC caliber guard Tavari Johnson, or they’ll see Miami (OH)’s Luke Skaljac. Both guards are all-around contributors for their respective squads, and they’ve both won many one-on-one battles in conference play.
Carbuccia will have his hands full, but a performance like he had on Tuesday – 13 points, four assists and two steals – offers some promise that the New York City guard won’t go down without a fight.
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1.
