Men's Basketball Comes Up Short in Defeat to UMass

By Gabriel Kitt | November 11, 2025

Zacharie Matulu (#14) scored 16 points on Saturday ( 11/8).

Photo Credit: Alex Henderson | UAlbany Athletics

On Saturday, Nov. 8th the University at Albany Men’s Basketball team was defeated by the UMass Minutemen 83-62. 

The early part of the game swung towards the Great Danes with them taking a 9-6 lead, 4:12 into the game. UAlbany guard Jaden Kempson came out of the gate strong with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in the first 7 minutes. 

With 9:31 left in the first half, the Great Danes took a 21-17 lead, which would be their largest of the game from a three point shot by Nas Muhammad. 

Following this, both squads would go back and forth scoring baskets, as there was little to separate them in a tight first half. 

 However, The Minutemen would go on a 12-2 run to take a 29-23 lead with 4:27 remaining in the first half. Great Danes Center Okechukwu Okeke answered with two baskets to cut the lead to 29-27. 

The Minutemen then went on a 9-0 run to take a 38-27, which was their largest lead of the first half.

The Great Danes then answered back, with Tarique Foster hitting a three point shot and Jaden Kempson connecting on a layup to make the score 38-32 at halftime.

UAlbany finished the first half shooting 12-30 from the field and 4-15 from beyond the arc. 

UMass started the first 6:09 of the second half on fire, as they would go on a 15-5 run to take a 52-37 lead that they would never surrender.

The Minutemen would continue to dominate for the remainder of the game, as in the final 15 minutes of action, they never let the Great Danes get within 10 points. 

UMass would keep their foot on the gas and emerge victorious by a score of 83-62. 

With the loss, Ualbany fell to 0-2 on the year, while the Minutemen improved to 1-1. 

UAlbany was led on the scoring charts by Bronx native Jaden Kempson who scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and Albany native Zacharie Matulu who scored 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

For the Minutemen, Leonardo Bettiol led the way with 23 points and 8 rebounds.

The Great Danes home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, November 11th at the Broadview Center where they will face off against the SUNY Delhi Broncos.