University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
11-4,2-1Atlantic 10
La Salle
10-6,1-2Atlantic 10
Massachusetts Downs La Salle, 81-65
January 10, 2024 | Men's Basketball
AMHERST, MASS. - Massachusetts (11-4, 2-1) secured its second conference win of the season with an 81-65 victory over La Salle (10-6, 1-2) at the Mullins Center on Wednesday evening. Josh Cohen led the Minutemen with his second double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Cohen went 9-of-19 from the field while knocking down a three and making five free throws. The double-double is his second in a UMass uniform.
Checking in on @Josh_Cohen35
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 11, 2024
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Jaylen Curry and Daniel Hankins-Sanford each provided a spark off the bench as the duo finished with 12 and 10 points respectively. Curry went 6-7 from the field with four assists while Hankins-Sanford grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for his first career double-double.
That Charlotte Connection??
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 11, 2024
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The Minutemen were 31-63 (.492) from the field with 42 points in the paint and 21 points off turnovers. UMass held their opponent to under 70 points for the fifth game in a row. The Minutemen also had a double-digit rebounding differential for the fifth time this season, outrebounding the Explorers 44-31.
The Explorers were led by Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi who led the team with 14 points while going 4-9 from range.
Breaking Down The Action
- Josh Cohen opened the game's scoring by knocking down a pair of free throws at 18:49.
- Rahsool Diggins made the first field goal for the Minutemen by hitting a jumper late in the shot clock to put UMass up 4-3 at 17:07.
- After starting the game 0-3 from the field, UMass made their next four, capped by a Jayden Ndjigue turnaround jumper at 14:17.
- Diggins scored his second basket of the game to stop a 6-0 La Salle Run at 11:45.
- Coming out of a media timeout, Jaylen Curry recorded a steal and went the full length of the court for a layup to put UMass up 15-13.
- Curry continued to be a spark for the Minutemen, finding Daniel Hankins-Sanford for a bucket and hitting a shot of his own from the top of the key.
- Josh Cohen hit the first three pointer for UMass to take a five-point lead into the under eight-minute media timeout.
- UMass went into the locker room up 32-31, led by Hankins-Sanford's eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
- Coming out of the break, Cohen converted a three-point play as UMass led La Salle 35-33.
- After La Salle tied the game at 37-37, Cohen finished through contact to give UMass back the lead at 17:56.
- Curry continued to bring the energy off the bench by scoring back-to-back buckets to put UMass up 45-39 at the first media timeout of the second half.
- UMass held La Salle to zero field goals for 3:13 while going on a 12-2 run to take a 47-39 lead.
- After a Diggins three and a Cohen jumper, UMass forced a La Salle timeout at 8:43.
- Hankins-Sanford knocked down a pair of free throws at 8:10 to give UMass its first double digit lead of the game and earning his first career double-double.
- Keon Thompson hit his first three of the game at the 6:10 mark to give the Minutemen a 64-52 advantage.
- Curry scored on back-to-back driving layups to put UMass ahead 78-62 with 1:48 remaining in the game.
- Diggins added another three with under a minute to play to secure an 81-65 victory.
New Kids On The Block
- Josh Cohen led UMass with a game-high 24 points on 9-19 shooting.
- Daniel Hankins-Sanford recorded his first career double-double with ten points and a career best 13 rebounds.
- Jaylen Curry went an efficient 6-7 with 12 points and four assists in 22 minutes.
Numbers To Know
- 2: Minutemen recorded double-doubles as Josh Cohen finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Daniel Hankins-Sanford added ten points and 13 rebounds. It's the first time two Minutemen have had double-doubles in the same game since Preston Santos and Samba Diallo versus Duquesne on Jan. 25, 2020.6:
- Jaylen Curry's six field goals were the most he's made in a game this season while having his best shooting percentage in a game (.857).
- 13: UMass finished with a +13 advantage on the glass (44-31), their second highest rebounding differential this season.
- 42: The Minutemen finished with 42 points in the paint in comparison to La Salle's 26.
Year Two Under Coach Martin
- Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 26-20 record leading the Minutemen.
- Martin now sits with a 314-221 collegiate career record.
Series History
- UMass now has a 30-21 record all-time versus the Explorers, winning the 51st matchup between the two programs.
Up Next
- Massachusetts travels for a regional matchup with A-10 foe Rhode Island on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. in Kingston, RI. The broadcast can be found live on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
