Massachusetts Nabs Decisive Victory Over NJIT, 80-68

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts (3-5) picked up a convincing 80-68 victory over NJIT (1-8) on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center.

No Sunday Scaries Today

Minutemen with a convincing double-digit victory to kick start their five-game homestead#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/DhWCaSFiGp
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 1, 2024

Daniel Rivera had a standout performance, garnering a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds, marking his first double-double as a Minutemen. The Senior forward went 6-of-11 from the paint, while sinking four three throws.

Marqui Worthy had a career day of his own, scoring a career-high 12 points in 20 minutes. The sophomore splashed his first three-pointer of the season, coming up in big moments for UMass.

Going up ??

Worthy into double-digits for the first time this season!! pic.twitter.com/BY6YOJMg0j
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 1, 2024

The Minutemen led by as many as 20 points in the first half but were forced to weather multiple scoring runs in the second to secure the double-digit win. Massachusetts was once again dominant around the rim, scoring 52 points in the paint.

The Highlanders were led by Tariq Francis, who scored a team-high 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Breaking Down The Action

UMass held the early 2-0 lead after a dunk by Daniel Hankins-Sanford just 55 seconds into the game.
The Minutemen went on a 6-0 run elapsed across four minutes, capped by a layup from Jaylen Curry.
NJIT scored their first points of the game at the 15:54 marker, with Ari Fulton making it a 6-2 game.
Hankins-Sanford notched a reverse layup from Rahsool Diggins to extend the Minutemen's lead to 9-2 with 14:15 on the clock.
UMass went on a 7-4 run across the next three minutes of play, highlighted by a pair of dunks from Shahid Muhammad and Rivera to make it a to a 18-6 game.
John Kelly broke NJIT's scoring drought with a shot behind the arc at 9:40, 20-9.
Massachusetts mounted a 10-2 run across three minutes, keyed by a layup from Marqui Worthy at 8:52.
The run allowed UMass a 17-point advantage over the Highlanders with 6:20 remaining in the first half.
In an attempt to close the gap, NJIT's Sebastian Robinson splashed a jump shot at 6:02 to make the score 30-13.
After free-throws by the Highlanders, Worthy connected on a midrange jumper with 2:23 on the clock to help extend UMass' lead, 36-16
Jayden Ndjigue's free-throw at 00:32 lended Massachusetts a game-high 20-point advantage. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, while the Minutemen continued to hold a dominant 41-21 lead heading into halftime.
UMass opened the second half scoring with a jumpshot from Curry with 19:34 on the clock.
The Highlanders soon after built a comeback, outscoring the Minutemen 18-5 across six minutes to make it a 48-41 game.
The Minutemen answered with an 8-3 run of their own, highlighted by a three-point play from Rivera at 13:40 to keep UMass on top, 56-44.
A shot from behind the arc by NJIT's Tim Moore closed the gap to nine points with 11:01 left in the game.
After trading baskets, Muhammad's dunk extended the Minutemen's lead to 64-52 at 8:48.
Nate Guerengomba completed a 4-0 run of his own, after a pair of free throws and dunk at 7:06– lending Massachusetts a 12-point advantage.
Ndjigue added a euro-step to make the score 70-54 with 6:25 on the clock.
The Crusaders sounded back, going on 9-3 run elapsed across three minutes to cut the lead to 10, 73-64.
Diggins drained his first shot from the arc to lend the Minutemen some insurance with 2:42 remaining in the game.
After late baskets from Worthy and Rivera, Massachusetts held onto their lead as the final buzzer sounded, 80-68.

Newcomer Notifications

Four newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera entering as a starter.
Rivera recorded his first double-double as a Minutemen with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Guerengomba went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
Muhammad recorded 10 points going 3-3 from the field goal and tacked on four blocks on the afternoon.

Numbers To Know

1: Worthy sunk his first three-pointer of the season and Rivera his first double-double at UMass.
3: Three Minutemen finished the game in the double digits, Rivera (16), Worthy (12) and Muhammad (10).
8: Diggins set a new career-high with eight assists on the afternoon.
11: The Minutemen scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities.
12: Worthy tallied points on the night, a new career-high.
20: The Minutemen led by a game-high 20 points with 00:32 remaining in the first half.
32: of UMass' 41 first-half points were scored in the paint.
36: UMass scored 36 points off the bench.
52: The Minutemen scored 52 points in the paint on the evening.
100: Massachusetts went a perfect 4-of-4 on dunks in the first 20 minutes of play.

Series History

With the win, Massachusetts now holds a 2-0 record against the Highlanders all-time.
The two programs previously faced each other during the 2011-12 campaign with Massachusetts securing the 79-58 victory on Nov. 17 in Amherst, Mass.

Up Next

The Minutemen continue their five game homestand facing CCSU on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcast on NESN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Daniel Rivera

Marqui Worthy

Shahid Muhammad

Nate Guerengomba

Players Mentioned

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Nate Guerengomba

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

John Kelly

Shahid Muhammad

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Marqui Worthy

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics