AMHERST – The University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team (11-16, 6-8 A-10) dropped an 81-50 game to VCU (20-6, 10-3) at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Wednesday evening.
Daniel Rivera led the way for Massachusetts offensively, scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. The point total marks his 17th game in double-digits this season.
Rahsool Diggins added 10 points while hauling in four rebounds on the night. Daniel Hankins-Sanford nabbed a game-high 10 rebounds with six points in the matchup.
The Rams were led by Max Shulga, who tallied 19 points and seven assists while shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range.
Breaking Down The Action
Rahsool Diggins netted the game’s first bucket, sinking a driving layup 25 seconds into the action.
Marqui Worthy finished a pull-up jumper to answer a three-point basket from VCU’s Max Shulgo, putting the score at 4-3 Minutemen.
Zeb Jackson capped a 7-1 VCU run with a three-pointer to create a 5-point Ram lead, 10-5 with 15:06 on the clock.
Daniel Rivera and Luka Damjanac each finished at the rim to cut the deficit to 10-9 with 13:47 left in the first half.
Phillip Russell capped an 18-2 VCU run, cementing a 28-11 lead with 9:20 left until halftime.
Malek Abdelgowad responded with a solo 5-0 scoring run, trimming the deficit to 28-16 at the under-eight media timeout.
Jack Clark completed a 16-4 VCU run, extending the Ram advantage to 44-20 with just under two minutes to play in the half.
A pair of free throws from Shulga sent the teams into the locker rooms with the score 46-22 in favor of VCU.
VCU scored the first basket of the second half on a Jack Clark three-pointer, making the score 49-22.
Worthy answered 16 seconds later with a tough finish through the lane.
A pair of jumpers from Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Jayden Ndjigue cut further into the halftime deficit, the score reading 50-29 with 14:41 to play.
Hankins-Sanford capped a 7-2 Minuteman run, bringing the deficit down to 55-36 with 10:14 remaining.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Clark and Joe Bamisile powered a 6-0 VCU run, extending the Ram lead back to 25 points with just over eight minutes to play.
Clark’s fifth three-pointer of the night pushed the Ram advantage over 30 points.
The final buzzer sounded with an 80-51 VCU win.
Newcomer Notifications
Six newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera entering as a starter.
Numbers To Know
- 5: Massachusetts swiped 5 steals in the matchup.
- 10: Hankins-Sanford snagged a game-high 10 rebounds.
- 17: Rivera’s double-digit performance marked his 17th as a Minuteman.
- 40: Massachusetts grabbed 40 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive glass.
Series History
- As a result, Massachusetts now holds a 4-11 record against the Rams all-time.
- Massachusetts is now 23-25 in A-10 play and 10-19 on the road with Coach Martin at the helm.
Up Next
- The Minutemen venture to the nation’s capital for a game against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. in the Charles E. Smith Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
- Rivera recorded his 17th game in double figures, playing 29 minutes.
- Malek Abdelgowad recorded seven points and five rebounds on 12 minutes of play.
- Luka Damjanac played 12 minutes, scoring two points.
