The UMass men’s basketball team couldn’t back up its strong start at Yale on Friday night, falling 91-71 in New Haven, Conn.
The Minutemen scored the game’s first seven points and made 3-of-6 shots. Then they went 17-of-51 (33.3 percent) over the rest of the game as the Bulldogs caught fire. Yale shot 54.2 percent from the field and scored 42 points in the paint. The Bulldogs had 14 assists compared to just eight for UMass (1-1).
Yale (2-0) took the lead 10-9 on two Azar Swain free throws with 13 minutes, 59 seconds to halftime, part of an 18-3 run that UMass never recovered from. The Bulldogs lead grew to as large as 25 points with a shade under three minutes remaining.
Noah Fernandes led three Minutemen in double figures with 13 points. His two assists led the team.
Rich Kelly and Trent Buttrick, the spark in Tuesday’s opener, added 11 each.
Greg Jones grabbed 10 rebounds and just missed a double-double with 10 points. Dyondre Dominguez contributed three blocks.
The Minutemen haven’t beaten Yale since 2007. They hadn’t visited the Bulldogs since 1968.
UMass won’t have much time to dwell on the loss, as it hosts Penn State at 7 p.m. Monday. The Nittany Lions are 1-0 after taking down Youngstown State in their opener.