AMHERST, MASS. — Massachusetts basketball (8-11, 3-3 A-10) secured a convincing 82-60 win over La Salle (10-8, 2-3) on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen closed the game on a 21-1 run over the final six minutes, securing back-to-back wins and their first 20-plus point win in A-10 play.
Massachusetts dominated down low, outscoring La Salle 48-28 in the paint. The Minutemen also owned the glass, recording 53 rebounds including 40 on the defensive end. The performance on the defensive glass marks the first time Massachusetts has recorded 40 or more defensive rebounds in a game since grabbing 40 vs. La Salle on March 5, 2008.
Jaylen Curry had a potent game offensively, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. The sophomore guard also dished out a game-high seven assists without recording a single turnover.
Rahsool Diggins continued to be prolific offensively tallying 17 points, while sinking three three-pointers. Diggins is now averaging 16.1 points on 41.2% shooting against schools from his home city of Philadelphia.
Jayden Ndjigue had a true utility player performance recording nine points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three assists on the afternoon. Daniel Hankins-Sanford had his best performance since returning from injury, scoring 10 points and nabbing nine rebounds.
The Explorers were led by Deuce Jones who scored 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
Breaking Down The Action
Rahsool Diggins recorded the first basket for the Minutemen, making the score 5-2 in favor of the Explorers with 18:45 on the clock.
Malek Abdelgowad capped off a Jaylen Curry steal and assist with an and-one layup to tie the score at 5-5.
The Minutemen forced four Explorer turnovers to fuel a 5-0 scoring run as a layup from Akil Watson tied the game at 16-16 with 10:43 left in the first half.
A pair of free throws from Curry made it 10 points unanswered, providing a 20-16 advantage.
Two baskets from Daeshon Shepherd and Eric Acker leveled the score for La Salle at 22-22 with 5:50 on the clock.
Demetrius Lilley knocked down a three-pointer to swing the score back in La Salle’s favor, 25-22.
Diggins sunk Massachusetts’ first three-pointer of the afternoon to make it a 7-0 UMass scoring run and 29-25 lead with 45 left in the half.
Diggins followed with a fast break layup to cap an 11-0 run and send the Minutemen into the break with a 31-25 advantage.
Hankins-Sanford finished a driving layup to cap a 9-2 run to begin the second half, extending the UMass lead to 42-27.
A transition dunk and three-point basket from Diggins kept the Minuteman lead at 12 points, 49-37, with 14:41 left on the clock.
Daeshon Shepherd extended a 14-4 La Salle run, cutting the UMass advantage to 55-53 with 10:21 remaining.
Two free throws from La Salle’s Deuce Jones tied the game at 55-55 just under a minute later.
Curry sunk two pull-up jumpers from the left elbow to give the advantage back to Massachusetts, 61-57.
Daniel Rivera slammed home a put back dunk to extend the UMass lead back to seven points, 65-58, with 5:57 left to play.
Diggins buried his third three-pointer of the afternoon to give Massachusetts a 10-point lead, 68-58.
Curry and Jayden Ndjigue sunk back-to-back three-point baskets to extend the UMass scoring run to 17 unanswered.
Curry made it a 19-0 run, dropping in a step-back jumper with 1:45 to play.
Marqui Worthy punctuated a 21-0 run with a driving layup, the final whistle blowing with the score 82-60 in favor of the Minutemen.
Newcomer Notifications
Seven newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Malek Abdegowad recorded 10 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes.
Daniel Rivera added six points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Nate Guerengomba played 10 minutes, grabbing two rebounds.
Akil Watson scored two points in seven minutes of action.
Numbers To Know
4: Massachusetts recorded 50-plus rebounds for the fourth time this season and second straight game.
5: Ndjigue swatted a career-high five blocks.
7: Curry dished out a game-high seven assists.
7: The Minutemen recorded seven steals and blocks on the afternoon.
13: Ndjigue reeled in a career-high 13 rebounds.
15: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 15 games this season.
21: Massachusetts ended the game on a 21-2 scoring run.
22: Curry scored a game high 22 points.
40: Massachusetts recorded 40 or more defensive rebounds for the first time since grabbing 40 vs. La Salle on March 5, 2008.
48: Massachusetts scored 48 points in the paint.
Series History
With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 31-22 record against the Explorers all-time.
Massachusetts is now 20-22 in A-10 play and 27-13 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.
