Minutemen Drop Defensive Battle 75-69 In Morgantown

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. -- Massachusetts (1-1) fell 75-69 to West Virginia (2-0) in a hard-fought defensive battle on Friday night at WVU Coliseum. The Minutemen held WVU to just 25 percent shooting in the second half, but could not overcome their 17-point halftime deficit.

The Minutemen flipped the script in the second half, recording only three turnovers and holding West Virginia to just six made field goals. Despite, cutting the deficit to within eight points on multiple occasions the comeback bid came up just short.

Rahsool Diggins continued to lead the charge offensively, scoring a team-high 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field. Backcourt mate Jaylen Curry added 13 points, all coming in the first half. Curry also tallied seven assists and five rebounds without a turnover.

Senior Daniel Rivera secured his first double-digit scoring performance in the maroon and white, totaling 14 points and nine rebounds in the matchup.

Junior Daniel Hankins-Sanford earned his first double-double of the year, scoring 13 points to along with a team-high 11 rebounds. The Charlotte, North Carolina native added two steals and led the team in plus/minus.

The Mountaineers were led by Tucker DeVries, who scored 17 points, going 3-of-5 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Breaking Down The Action

Massachusetts got on the board first as Daniel Hankins-Sanford put back his own offensive rebound to provide the game's first lead.
A jumper from Jaylen Curry capped an early 4-0 scoring run for Massachusetts, making it 6-2 Minutemen just 3:32 into the first half.
Two free throws from Mountaineer Javon Small gave West Virginia its first lead, 7-6 with 15:56 remaining in the half.
West Virginia proceeded to go on a 10-2 scoring run punctuated by a pair of free throws from Joseph Yesufu, taking a 17-8 advantage at the 13:00 minute mark.
The Mountaineers produced an 8-2 scoring run over the next 2:37 to make it 25-10 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half.
Massachusetts responded, as a Curry pull-up jumper capped a 10-2 scoring run with 7:46 remaining to make it 27-20.
The two teams continued to trade baskets with a Curry three-pointer cutting the Mountaineer advantage to 32-26 at the 4:07 mark.
West Virginia ended the first half on a 13-2 scoring run, as a three-pointer from Jonathan Powell made it 45-28 Mountaineers going into the break.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Rahsool Diggins cut the West Virginia lead to 12 points with 17:34 left to play.
A pair of free-throws from Tucker DeVries pushed the Moutaineer lead back to 55-39 with just over 15 minutes on the clock.
A Daniel Rivera dunk through traffic capped a 10-3 Massachusetts scoring run over the next five minutes, cutting the deficit to 58-49 at the 10-minute mark.
Massachusetts continued to battle on the defensive end, trading baskets and eventually cutting the deficit to 66-59 on a free-throw from Daniel Rivera with 2:45 remaining.
Diggins scored eight points in the final 16 seconds of regulation, but the Minutemen could not cut deep enough in to the Mountaineer lead, falling 75-69.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Malek Abdelgowad and Daniel Rivera both entering as starters.
Rivera recorded his first double-digit performance as a Minuteman, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
Shahid Muhammad played 11 minutes, scoring four points, while adding two blocks and two rebounds.

Numbers To Know

2: In addition to his double-double, Hankins-Sanford added two steals on the night.
3: The Minutemen recorded only three turnovers in the second half.
4: Four Minutemen reached double figures on the night: Diggins (19), Rivera (14), Curry (13), and Hankins-Sanford (13).
6: Massachusetts held West Virginia to just six field goals in the second half.
7: Curry dished out seven assists without a single turnover.
11: Hankins-Sanfordled the Minutemen in rebounds recording 11.
32: Massachusetts scored 32 points in the paint compared to West Virginia's 24.

Series History

With the result, UMass now holds a 14-29 record against the Mountaineers all-time.

Up Next

The Minutemen continue their road trip and face Louisiana Tech in the Icons of the Game showcase at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Nassau County Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on MSG Network with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Rivera

Jaylen Curry

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics