University of Massachusets Athletics

Massachusetts Earns Hard Fought Road Win At Saint Louis, 84-73
January 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
SAINT LOUIS, MO. - Massachusetts (13-7, 4-4 Atlantic 10) claimed a hard-fought, 84-73, Atlantic 10 road victory over Saint Louis (8-12, 1-6 A-10) on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena. In his return to the starting lineup, Matt Cross led the way for the Minutemen, scoring 19 points while dishing out a team-high five assists.
Show me that ??
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 28, 2024
Minutemen secure a gritty A-10 road dub in St. Louis#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/Ls3OXCXTgc
Cross went 6-of-11 from the field, grabbing five rebounds and shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Both Keon Thompson and Rahsool Diggins provided consistent play out of the backcourt combining for 29 points and zero turnovers in 33 minutes of action apiece. Thompson scored 14 points, shooting 4-4 from the free-throw line including two in the last minute of play. Diggins continued his hot run of form, scoring 15 points, while matching a career-high with six rebounds.
How about @key_6x from three tonight??
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 28, 2024
Our PG has two already in the first half
6:07 H1 | UMass 26, SLU 26 pic.twitter.com/saWBOCuVdB
Daniel Hankins-Sanford provided a spark off the bench reeling in a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
The Hawks were led by Gibson Jimerson who tallied 16 points, including three basket from three-point range.
Breaking Down The Action
- In his return to the starting lineup, Matt Cross knocked down a three for the first UMass basket of the game.
- After falling behind early, Keon Thompson scored on three straight possessions to bring UMass within four at 12:25.
- Coming off the bench, Jaylen Curry drained a three from the top of the arc at 11:09.
- UMass tied the game at 21-21 thanks to a Josh Cohen put-back to cap a 7-0 run.
- Robert Davis Jr. sunk his first three-point attempt of the night to tie the game at 24 apiece with 7:38 remaining in the half.
- Jayden Ndjigue stole the ball, taking it the full length of the court for two, giving UMass their first lead since the 17:39 mark of the first.
- Curry scored his second bucket of the game on a pull-up jumper to extend the UMass lead to eight with 2:58 until the half.
- Rahsool Diggins hit his first three of the game to give the Minutemen a 39-31 advantage.
- Daniel Hankins-Sanford gave UMass its first double-digit lead of the game on a putback with under a minute to go in the first half.
- Two Billiken free-throws ended the first half at 41-36 in favor of the Minutemen.
- Diggins scored the first UMass basket of the second half with a contested left-handed layup.
- Diggins continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc hitting the seventh three of the game for UMass, making it 48-42 with 17:14 remaining in the second half.
- Ndjigue found Hankins-Sanford in the paint for his team-leading fourth bucket at 14:54.
- Curry finished through contact to give UMass a nine-point advantage with 11:03 to play.
- After a Cross steal, Thompson put UMass up 64-53 with an emphatic dunk in transition.
- Ndjigue hit a floater in the lane to push the UMass lead to seven with under five minutes to go.
- Cohen hit Diggins cutting back door who made a layup to put UMass up 78-71 at the 1:02 mark.
- Massachusetts made six consecutive free throws to ice the game, claiming an 84-73 victory at the final whistle.
New Kids On The Block
- Continuing his hot streak off the bench, Jaylen Curry led all newcomers with 11 points in 16 minutes.
- Jayden Ndjigue played an all-around game, finishing with six points on 3-4 shooting, dishing out three assists, recording two steals, and blocking a career high two shots.
- Daniel Hankins-Sanford had a game-high ten rebounds to go along with eight points in 24 minutes.
Numbers To Know
- .826: UMass was .826 from the line (14-16). It is the fifth time this year they have shot better than .800 from the line.
- 2 Hankins-Sanford tallied the second double-digit rebound performance of his career with 10 boards on the night
- 5: UMass tied their season high in blocks with five.
- 5: Matt Cross tied his season-high for assists with five, the fifth time he has matched the number on the season.
- 7: The Minutemen finished with just seven turnovers, the fifth time this season they've kept it under double digits.
- 13: Games this season with four or more players scoring in double-digits.
- 19: Back in the starting lineup, Matt Cross led UMass with 19 points on 6-11 shooting.
- 38: The Minutemen outrebounded Saint. Louis 38-29.
- 40: UMass continued to dominate opponents down low, finished with 40 points in the paint compared to the Billikens 26.
Year Two Under Coach Martin
- Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 28-23 record leading the Minutemen.
- Martin now sits with a 316-224 collegiate career record.
Series History
- UMass now holds a 9-17 record all-time versus the Bilikens, claiming the 26th matchup between the two programs.
Up Next
- Massachusetts comes back to Amherst for a Saturday showdown with George Mason at 12 p.m. in the Mullins Center. The broadcast can be found live on NESN with streaming available on ESPN+. Links and live updates are available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).
Team Stats
UMass
SLU
FG%
.475
.436
3FG%
.318
.440
FT%
.826
.875
RB
38
29
TO
7
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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