Massachusetts Falls 72-81 To Saint Joseph’s In A-10 Opener

PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- Massachusetts basketball (5-9) dropped a 72-81 game to Saint Joseph's (10-4) on Tuesday afternoon at Hagan Arena. The Minutemen battled defensively, forcing 17 turnovers but could not close the deficit in the Atlantic 10 conference opener.

Senior Rahsool Diggins poured in a career-high 33 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native added three rebounds and three assists in the homecoming matchup.

Daniel Rivera contributed a season-high 23 points, shooting a career-high 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Rivera finished with nine rebounds and a pair of assists on the afternoon.

With their performances Diggins and Rivera became the first Massachusetts duo to record 20-plus points in a single game since Rich Kelly (25) & Noah Fernandes (24) at Northeastern on Dec. 7, 2021.

The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming who tallied 16 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Breaking Down The Action

Daniel Rivera dropped in Massachusetts' first points of the night, sinking a layup to make it 3-2 in favor of Saint Joseph's with 18:18 on the clock.
Saint Joseph's Xzayvier Brown ended a 2:38 scoring drought for both teams, sinking a turnaround jumper to give the Hawks a three-point lead.
A Rivera free throw and three-point basket from Jaylen Curry provided UMass its first lead of the day at 6-5 with 15:12 to play in the half.
The two teams traded baskets before an and-one layup from Rahsool Diggins gave the Minutemen their largest lead of the day, making it 11-7 with 13:38 on the clock.
Six points from Rasheer Fleming keyed an 8-0 Saint Joseph's scoring run to make it 15-11 Hawks, with just over 12 minutes to play in the half.
The deficit remained at four points for much of the next four minutes until a pair of jumpers from Rahsool Diggins and Shahid Muhammad cut Hawks lead to 27-25.
Another and-one basket from Diggins evened the score at 31-31 with 3:46 left in the first half.
Saint Joseph's ended the first half on a 4-0 run, sending the two teams to the locker room holding a 37-33 advantage.
Diggins and Rivera combined for eight points to open the second half, cutting the Saint Joseph's lead to 42-41 with 15:50 left to play.
A three-pointer from Dasear Haskins capped an 8-2 Hawks run, extending the Massachusetts deficit back to 55-47 with just under 12 minutes to go.
Five points from Rivera brought the game back within striking distance at 72-68 Hawks with 3:50 remaining in regulation.
Saint Joseph's responded with a 9-3 scoring run to end the game, the final whistle sounding with the score 81-72.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Daniel Rivera scored a season-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.
Shahid Muhammad tallied six points while swatting six blocks.
Nate Guerengomba played 13 minutes, snagging two rebounds.

Numbers To Know

6: Jaylen Curry dished out a team-high six assists.
9: Rivera reeled in a team-high nine rebounds.
11: Diggins sunk a career high 11 free throws.
12: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 12 games this season.
17: Massachusetts forced 17 turnovers in the matchup.
33: Diggins scored 33 points, his third 20-plus point performance of the season.
33: With his 4 blocks on the night Muhammad increased his season total to 33.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 42-39 record against the Hawks all-time.
The Minutemen now hold a 1-2 record in A-10 openers under head coach Frank Martin.

Up Next

The Minutemen host Richmond for their A-10 home opener on Satuday, Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The game will be broadcast on NESN with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard