Massachusetts Drops Nailbiter To Saint Joseph’s

AMHERST, MASS. - Massachusetts (12-7, 3-4 Atlantic 10) dropped a heartbreaker to Saint Joseph's (13-6, 3-3 A-10) in the last second at the Mullins Center Tuesday night. Rahsool Diggins led the Minutemen again with 17 points on the night.

Diggins went 6-of-10 from the field, while sinking three three-pointers and going a perfect 2-2 from the free-throw line.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford continued to progress in conference play, scoring a career-high 16 points while reeling in six rebounds. Hankins-Sanford also provided rim protection, recording a team-high two blocks.

Matt Cross returned to the lineup after a three-game absence, posting 12 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Cross distributed the ball well in his return, tying for a team-high with four assists.

The Hawks were led by Erik Reynolds II who tallied 31 points, going 5-of-7 from the three-point line.

Breaking Down The Action

Keon Thompson hit a pair of layups to open the scoring for UMass, sandwiched between back-to-back three-pointers by Saint Joseph's.
Then a pair of Rahsool Diggins threes gave the Minutemen a 10-6 lead with 14:47 left in the first half.
With 13:21 left in the half, Matt Cross hit a three-pointer on his first shot after missing the last three games due to injury to put UMass up 17-12.
Cross finished a fast break with an and-one to push the lead to 22-15 with 10:25 left in the half.
The Hawks worked it back to a one possession game, 24-21, with eight minutes left but Diggins hit a jumper from the free-throw line to move it back to a five-point lead.
Saint Joseph's tied it 32-32 with 4:10 left on an Erik Reynolds II three.
John Cohen hit a turnaround jumper down low for his first basket of the night and a 34-32 lead with 3:30 left.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford had a putback down low to make it 38-34 and then he had another put back with time expiring for 42-38 lead at the half.
Reynolds II cut the UMass lead to 44-43 early in the second half before a pair of Cross free throws and a Hankins-Sanford layup moved it to 48-45.
Cross found Hankins-Sanford for another layup and then a Diggins three made it a 9-0 run for the Minutemen and a 57-48 lead, forcing the Hawks into calling a timeout with 13:30 left in the second.
Hankins-Sanford drained a three and then after a Cross steal, Curry hit a layup for 66-53 lead with 10:26 left, forcing the Hawks into another timeout.
Saint Joseph's put together an 8-0 run to move it to a 66-61 game with 7:59 left in the game.
A Josh Cohen tip in with 5:36 remaining made 69-65.
Cross cashed in a dunk from a Curry alley-oop pass for a 73-72 lead with 1:28 left in regulation.
Erik Reynolds II sunk a two, but missed the and-one opportunity, putting Saint Joseph's up 74-73.
Diggins spun off a Hawks defender for a layup, giving UMass a 77-76 lead with 12.5 seconds to play.
Greer III hit a layup as time expired for the 78-77 Saint Joseph's win.

New Kids On The Block

In his fourth start of the season, Daniel Hankins-Sanford posted a career-high in points with 16 in 33 minutes.
Jayden Ndjigue pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds while going 3-9 from the field with eight points.
Jaylen Curry finished with eight points in 19 minutes off the bench.

Numbers To Know

1: In his first game back after missing the last three, Matt Cross played 27 minutes off the bench and had 12 points and nine assists.
11: Jayden Ndjigue set a career-high in rebounds with 11.
16: Daniel Hankins-Sanford finished the game with a career-high 16 points.
20: The Minutemen finished with 20 bench points and 20 second chance points.
40: UMass outrebounded the Hawks 40-33.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 27-23 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 315-224 collegiate career record.

Series History

UMass now holds a 42-38 record all-time versus the Hawks, dropping the 80th matchup between the two programs.

Up Next

Massachusetts returns to the road for a Saturday night matchup against Saint Louis at 8 p.m. in Chaifetz Arena. The broadcast can be found live on ESPN+ with links and live updates are available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Rahsool Diggins

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Matt Cross

Keon Thompson

Players Mentioned

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

Keon Thompson

Players Mentioned

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

Keon Thompson

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics