Massachusetts Picks Up 86-52 Win over UMass Boston

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (4-7) secured a 86-52 victory over UMass Boston (5-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen controlled the game, scoring 54 points in the paint to fuel the 34-point win.

Malek Abdelgowad led the Minutemen with a game high 26-points and 14 rebounds to mark his second double-double of the season. The Cairo, Eqypt native played 25 minutes going 11-of-16 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range

That's 2?0? for our big guy

First career twenty point game for Malek Abdelgowad pic.twitter.com/Ns1lJ0nb9D
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 14, 2024

Daniel Rivera notched his third double-double in the last four games, scoring 11 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Shahid Muhammad continued to impact the game around the rim, recording three blocks to increase his A-10 leading total to 27 on the season.

Saturday ??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/VCaVq4Biol
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) December 14, 2024

The Beacons were led by Xavier Mckenzie and Cameron Perkins who each contributed 13 points on the afternoon. Mckenzie went 6-16 from the field goal and Perkins grabbed 6 rebounds.

Breaking Down The Action

The Minutemen got on the board first with a jumper under the basket by Malek Abdelgowad just 26 seconds into the game.
Another lay-in from Jaylen Curry put UMass ahead 4-0.
The Beacons responded with a three pointer by Emanuel Zayas to cut the deficit to one.
Abdeolgowad found the net with 17:38 left on the clock to extend the UMass lead but was quickly tied by a shot from the arc by Raphel Laurent.
The Minutemen secured a 13-0 scoring run over three minutes highlighted by a three pointer from Rahsool Diggins to extend the lead, 20-7.
Back-to-back three-pointers by the Beacons cut the Massachusetts lead to seven with 11:05 left in the half.
Massachusetts regained their momentum with a 12-0 scoring run over nearly three minutes capped by back-to-back three pointers from Abdelgowad to extend their lead, 32-13.
Coming off a timeout, the two teams traded baskets over four minutes capped by a dunk by Daniel Rivera.
At the shot clock buzzer, Davon Sanders connected on a three.
A three-point play by Rivera gave Massachusetts a 47-24 advantage into halftime.
Diggins found Abdelgowad at the bottom of the key to open the second half with 18:02 left in the game.
The Beacons answered quickly engineering an 8-3 scoring run over nearly two minutes keyed by a layup from Emanuel Zayas to close the deficit, 52-32.
A jumper from Akil Watson extended the Minutemen lead with 11:16 to play, 66-36.
Both teams traded shots highlighted by a reverse layup from Tarique Foster to make the score 72-43.
Two blocks by Muhammad created a fastbreak lob for Foster to make it 74-43.
Cameron Perkins attempted to close the deficit with a jumper to make the score 74-45 with 5:01 left to play.
With two minutes left to play, Massachusetts turned to their bench with Amadou Doumbia sinking back-to-back baskets extending their lead.
The final buzzer sounded with the score 86-52.

Newcomer Notifications

Seven newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Abdelgowad garnered his second double-double of his career with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Amadou Doumbia recorded five points over the afternoon setting a new career high.
Akil Watson grabbed nine rebounds over the afternoon.
Daniel Rivera scored 11 points marking his fourth straight game with 10-plus points.

Numbers To Know

2: Abdelgowad and Rivera both recorded a double-double on the night.
3: Three Minutemen finished the game with double digits, Abdelgowad (26), Rivera (11), and Curry (10).
3: Rivera recorded his third double-double of the season.
5: Doumbia set a new career high in points with five on the afternoon.
7: Diggins and Worthy each contributed seven assists.
14: Abdelgowad's 14 rebounds sets a new career high.
26: Abdelgowad's performance marks a new career high in points.
27: With three blocks on the afternoon, Muhammad leads the team with 27 blocks this season.
54: Massachusetts scored 54 points in the paint.
57: UMass won the battle on the glass collecting 57 rebounds.

Series History

With the win, Massachusetts now holds a 1-0 record against the River Hawks all-time.
The Minutemen now hold a 24-12 record at the Mullins Center under Head Coach Frank Martin.

Up Next

The Minutemen close out their five-game homestand, challenging Northeastern on Wednesday, Dec. 18 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

Malek Abdelgowad

Daniel Rivera

Jaylen Curry

Akil Watson

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Tarique Foster

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Akil Watson

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Tarique Foster

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Akil Watson

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics