Minutemen Claim Basketball Hall Of Fame Classic Victory Over West Virginia, 87-79

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Massachusetts (6-2) overcame a second-half comeback attempt to earn an 87-79 victory over West Virginia (4-6) on Saturday evening at the MassMutual Center.

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UMass takes a tough @hoophallu classic victory in Springfield!#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/sJgJtXXE8v
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 17, 2023

Senior Josh Cohen, who won Player of The Game honors, led the charge in the second half finishing the night with 19 points and seven rebounds. The big man also recorded two steals, marking the fourth consecutive game that Cohen has notched at least one steal.

Freshman Robert Davis Jr. had a breakout performance, recording a career-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Davis Jr. is the first Minuteman to shoot 75% or better from three since teammate Rahsool Diggins accomplished the feat versus Richmond last season (1/25/23).

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A BIG three ball when we needed it and Minutemen are battling

4:12 H2 | UMass 70, WVU 65 pic.twitter.com/Kft8gwCceB
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 17, 2023

Veterans Matt Cross and Rahsool Diggins also played key roles in the neutral court victory. Cross tallied his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds on the night. Diggins continued to be a consistent scorer, recording 15 points while a going a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line.

The Minutemen fought hard both in the paint owning a 47-32 advantage on the glass and a 36-24 lead in points in the paint. The performance on the glass marks Massachusetts's fifth 40-plus rebound game of the season.

The Mountaineers were led by Kerr Kriisa and Quinn Slazinski who each had 20 points on the night.

Breaking Down The Action

A Matt Cross layup off of a Josh Cohen steal gave the Minutemen their first basket of the game making it 2-0, at the 19:31 mark.
Rahsool Diggins capped a 9-2 UMass run to begin the first half, forcing the Mountaineers into a timeout with 17:04 on the clock.
Two free throws from Cohen elevated the initial Massachusetts scoring run to 12-4 with 15:09 remaining in the first half.
A pair of three-pointers from the Mountaineers cut the Massachusetts lead to 16-13 at the 11:21 mark and the second media timeout.
A four-point play from West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa created a 16-17 WVU advantage with 11:07 on the clock.
The two teams traded the lead three times before three consecutive three-point baskets from Robert Davis Jr. punctuated an 11-2 Massachusetts run to give them the advantage (33-24) with 5:16 left in the opening half.
The Minutemen nearly closed the half on a 6-0 scoring before a Kriisa three-pointer ended the half with Massachusetts holding a 44-29 lead.
Massachusetts opened the half with two free throws from Cohen to push the lead to 46-29 at the 19:07 mark of the second half.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Davis Jr. lifted Massachusetts back to a 15-point lead (56-41) with 15:26 left in the second half.
A 5-0 run from West Virginia cut the Minuteman advantage down to seven (58-51) just before the third media timeout (12:13).
A three-pointer from WVU's Seth Wilson tied the action at 60-60 with 8:53 remaining in regulation.
Consecutive three-pointers from Davis Jr. And Rahsool Diggins made it 70-65 with the clock reading 5:05 remaining.
Josh Cohen powered an 8-0 Massachusetts run to separate late in the second half and claim a 78-69 lead with just over a minute left in regulation.
After a slew of late free-throws, UMass secured an 87-79 win in the MassMutual Center.

New Kids On The Block

Cohen led all new faces with a team-high 19 points, going 6-of-12 from the field. This marks his fourth 20-point game as a Minuteman.
Cohen has also recorded his second consecutive double-digit performance on the glass with 13 rebounds.
Davis Jr. tallied a career-high 18 points while knocked down a game-high six three-point field goals.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford contributed eight points and seven rebounds as well as one block and one steal on the defensive end.
Jayden Ndjigue continued to impact the game in multiple facets grabbing six rebounds and four assists.

Numbers To Know

18: A new career high in points for Davis Jr.
25: Made free-throws by the Minutemen.
34: Points scored on the fast break, owning 34-15 advantage.
47: Total rebounds on the night, securing a 47-32 advantage in the category.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a current 21-18 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 309-219 collegiate career record.

MOOD. #Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/IhdDbq71If
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 17, 2023

Series History

With the win, UMass improves their record against the Mountaineers to 14-28 all-time.

Up Next

Massachusetts heads to Hawaii for the holidays, facing Georgia Tech in the first game of the Diamond Head Classic on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 9:00 pm ET. The broadcast can be found live on ESPN2 with links and live updates are available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

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