Massachusetts basketball (9-11, 4-3 A-10) notched a 74-61 victory over George Washington (13-6, 2-6) on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.
The performance marks the third straight Atlantic 10 victory for the Minutemen, who have now claimed four of their last five.
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The Minutemen took the momentum into the half as Jaylen Curry keyed a 18-6 run which sent Massachusetts into the half with a seven-point lead they would never relinquish.
The duo of Curry and Rahsool Diggins each chipped in 19 points, respectively, in the contest.
Curry also added a team-high six assists, while Diggins connected on a game-high four of his seven three-pointers. Daniel Hankins-Sanford provided a spark off the bench for Massachusetts with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Malek Abdelgowad was a steady presence inside, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds alongside six points and two blocks.
The Revolutionaries were led by Rafael Castro who recorded 23 points and seven rebounds, shooting 9-of-11 from the field.
Breaking Down The Action
- Jaylen Curry recorded the first basket for the Minutemen, knotting the score at 2-2 16:18 on the clock.
- Daniel Rivera put back his own miss to give UMass it’s first lead of the night, 4-2, with 15:48 left in the first half.
- Shahid Muhammad responded to a George Washington three pointer with a second chance layup making the score 7-6 Revolutionaries with 13:18 remaining in the half.
- Daniel Hankins-Sanford snapped a three-minute scoring drought for Massachusetts cutting the GW lead to seven, UMass trailing 15-8.
- Curry finished at the rim on back-to-back Minutemen possessions, making the score 19-12 Revolutionaries with under nine minutes remaining in the first.
- Curry converted an and-one three-pointer from the right wing with 6:43 left in the half, bringing the game back to one possession with George Washington leading 19-16.
- Curry connected on another three from the right wing, scoring UMass’s 10 straight point and making the score 23-21 with over four minutes remaining.
- Rahsool Diggins finished at the rim after a Revolutionaries turnover, regaining the Minutemen lead, 25-23, with 3:56 remaining in the half.
- Jayden Ndjigue concluded a team-high 9-0 run, lending the Minutemen a four-point advantage at 3:19.
- Curry hit a buzzer-beating floater to put UMass on top 36-29 heading into the locker room.
- Malek Abdelgowad finished a layup through contact scoring UMass’s first basket of the second half with 19:01 left in the game.
- Muhammed sent back a Revolutionaries layup, keeping UMass in front 40-36 with 16:24 left in the game.
- Diggins found the bottom of the net and was fouled on a three-point attempt, converting the four-point play to put Massachusetts up 44-39 with under 16 minutes left.
- Curry picked up where he left off in the first half, finishing an acrobatic layup to push the UMass lead to 50-41 with 13:25 left in the game.
- Diggins and Worthy connected on a backdoor cut to give Massachusetts a double-digit lead, winning 54-44 with 11:14 to go.
- Rivera spun through the lane and scored, keeping the UMass lead at 10, the Minutemen ahead 58-48 with just over eight minutes remaining.
- Diggins connected on a three-pointer with two defenders in his face from the right wing, putting UMass ahead 61-49 with 6:15 on the clock.
- A Rivera slam and Diggins three on the ensuing possession put UMass up 69-57 with 2:59 left in the game.
- Abdelgowad sent a George Washington layup into the stands, keeping Massachusetts up 10, 71-61, with 1:43 on the clock.
- Diggins buried a 35-foot three-pointer with 0:49 in the game for UMass’s last points of the night, as the Minutemen entered the locker room with a 74-61 victory.
Newcomer Notifications
- Four newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
- Malek Abdegowad recorded a game-high 11 rebounds, adding six points across 27 minutes.
- Daniel Rivera added seven points while grabbing six rebounds.
Numbers To Know
- 3: The Minutemen secured their third straight A-10 victory.
- 6: Curry dished out a game-high six assists.
- 8: The Minutemen recorded eight steals and six blocks on the evening
- 9: UMass completed a game-high 9-0 run to grant them 36-29 advantage heading into the second half.
- 9: Diggins scored in double figures for the ninth consecutive game.
- 11: Abdelgowad added a game-high 11 rebounds.
- 14: Curry has now totaled double-digit points in 14 games this season.
- 16: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 16 games this season.
- 19: Ndjigue and Diggins led the Minutemen with 19 points each.
- 42: UMass tallied 42 rebounds across the contest, 27 of which were defensive.
- 44: Massachusetts’ scored 44 of its 74 points in the paint.
- 67: The Minutemen shot an impressive 66.7% from beyond the arc in the second half and 46.2% for the game.
Series History
- With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 33-46 record against the Explorers all-time.
- Massachusetts is now 21-22 in A-10 play and 28-13 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.
Up Next
- The Minutemen return to the road to face rival Rhode Island on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Thomas M. Ryan Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
