Massachusetts Battles In 64-60 Loss At Dayton

DAYTON OHIO. - Massachusetts (10-4, 1-1) battled in its first conference road game of the year but lost a 64-60 decision to Dayton (12-2, 2-0) at UD Arena on Sunday afternoon. Matt Cross led the Minutemen with his third double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Cross shot 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep while dishing out two assists. The double-double performance marks the seventh of his UMass career.

Josh Cohen had a bounce-back game tallying 15 points and nine rebounds, including a game-high six on the offensive glass. The senior added three assists and two steals, flashing an all-around performance in a difficult matchup against Dayton's DaRon Holmes II.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford led the bench players, logging 19 minutes while scoring six points on 3-6 shooting. The sophomore also recorded three steals and five rebounds.

Despite shooting struggles, the Minutemen's persistence on the boards and second half defense kept UMass in the game. Massachusetts finished the contest by outrebounding Dayton 45-33 and 20-6 on the offensive glass. In the second half, UMass held the Flyers to 6-23 (.260) shooting.

The Flyers were led by DaRon Holmes II who led the team with 18 points including three from three-point range.

Breaking Down The Action

Matt Cross got the Minutemen on the board first with a turnaround jumper to tie the game 2-2 at 19:08.
Rahsool Diggins hit a tough floater for his second bucket of the game to bring UMass within a point with 15:40 remaining in the half.
Freshman Marqui Worthy snapped a 4:34 scoreless drought with a driving layup midway through the first half.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford provided a spark for UMass after checking in the game by grabbing a pair of rebounds, recording a steal, and scoring his first basket at the 9:34 mark of the first half.
Cross hit the first three pointer for UMass with 9:00 remaining as UMass trailing 28-17.
Josh Cohen made his first mark on the game by grabbing an offensive rebound and finished through contact while drawing a foul at the 7:21 mark.
Hankins-Sanford pulled down an offensive rebound and converted on the putback to bring UMass within double digits to cap a 6-0 run at 3:27.
To close out the half, Cohen made a second chance layup as time expired, and UMass went into the locker room trailing the Flyers 38-29.
The Minutemen got their first basket of the second half as Cross found a cutting Jayden Ndjigue two minutes into the half.
After trading baskets for most of the second half, a Cohen steal led to a Cross transition layup that brought UMass within seven at the 7:05 mark.
Following a three-point play from Jayden Ndjigue, Cohen knocked down a triple to cap an 8-0 run as UMass trailed Dayton 57-55 with 3:26 to go.
Despite getting within two, the Minutemen's comeback came up short as they fell to Dayton 64-60.

New Kids On The Block

Josh Cohen led all newcomers in scoring with 15 while pulling down nine rebounds.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford provided energy off the bench as the South Carolina transfer had six points, five rebounds and three steals.
Jayden Ndjigue finished with five points, four rebounds, and two assists in 29 minutes.

Numbers To Know

260: UMass held Dayton to .260 shooting in the second half; the second lowest opponent shooting percentage in a half this season.
.400: For the fifth time this season, UMass has held its opponent to under .400 shooting from the field as the Flyers went 18-47 (.383).
3: Matt Cross finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for his third double-double this season.
4: The Minutemen held Dayton without a field goal for the final 4:55 of regulation.
15: Josh Cohen finished with 15 points; the eighth time he's had 15+ points this season.
20: UMass was dominant on the offensive glass, pulling down 20 offensive rebounds for the second time this season (23 against Harvard).
34: UMass continued to assert themselves in the post, outscoring Dayton in paint points, 34-16.
45: The Minutemen outrebounded the Flyers 45-33, their second-highest margin this season.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 25-20 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 313-221 collegiate career record.

Series History

UMass now has a 14-20 record all-time versus the Flyers, dropping the 34th matchup between the two programs.

Up Next

Massachusetts returns to the Mullins Center for a Wednesday evening clash with La Salle on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The broadcast can be found live on the NBC Sports App with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Matt Cross

Josh Cohen

Rahsool Diggins

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Players Mentioned

Josh Cohen

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

Marqui Worthy

Players Mentioned

Josh Cohen

Matt Cross

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

Marqui Worthy

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics