Massachusetts Falls In An A-10 Battle to St. Bonaventure, 75-67

AMHERST, Mass. - The Massachusetts (17-10, 8-7 Atlantic 10) men's basketball team fell to St. Bonaventure (17-10, 8-7 A-10) 75-67, in a closely fought game on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.

The game comes on Senior Night, where five seniors were honored prior to tipoff: Matt Cross, Ryan Marcus, and student managers, Sami Benredda, Luke Spring, and Nick Tantillo for their dedication and contributions to the program. The five seniors were honored in front of 7016 fans at the Mullins Center, the largest crowd of the season for the Minutemen.

After trading leads a staggering 12 times, the Bonnies stormed ahead with a pair of uncontested runs in the second half.

Josh Cohen led the Minutemen, finishing the game with 18 points. The graduate forward went 6-for-9 from field goal range, while adding six rebounds in 26 minutes on the court.

Jaylen Curry and Rahsool Diggins posted solid performances, combining for 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford added an all-round game of his own, garnering nine points, going 4-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 from three-point range. The sophomore led in rebounds with Cross, totaling seven apiece.

The Bonnies were led by Chad Venning who notched 16 points, going 5-for-7 from the field and adding a team-high 10 rebounds.

Breaking Down The Action

Cross grabbed the first basket for the Minutemen, sinking a bucket from beyond the arc for an early 3-2 lead at the 18:33 mark.
Diggins and Cohen splashed consecutive three-pointers just 21 seconds apart to build a 6-0 run for UMass at 15:09.
After St. Bonaventure mounted a comeback, Curry halted the run with a triple of his own at 11:21.
Soon after, Keon Thompson found Hankins-Sanford on the fast-break for a dunk to give Massachusetts a 16-10 advantage at 11:03.
The two teams traded baskets once again before Diggins's three-pointer hit the net; bringing UMass to a 22-16 lead with 8:32 remaining in the first half.
Hankins-Sanford brought the Minutemen to their largest lead to that point, notching a driving layup to put UMass ahead 24-18 at 7:26.
The Bonnies collected an 8-0 run, before Curry reached the free-throw line; sinking two baskets to bring Massachusetts even at 26-26 with 3:46 remaining in the first half.
Cohen finished on a turnaround jumper to put UMass back in the lead at 3:01.
After St. Bonaventure grabbed back the lead, Cohen answered back for a 34-33 UMass advantage in the waning minute of the first half.
The Bonnies' Mika Adams-Wood scored a three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, before Curry added two free throws with two seconds left to make it 36-36.
A personal foul was called on St. Bonaventure at the buzzer, allowing Diggins two shots at the line, which he hit to give the Minutemen the lead at the break, 38-36.
Thompson kicked off the action in the second half, adding a layup off Cross' assist at 19:32.
The Bonnies collected a 7-0 run thereafter, before Thompson snapped their streak with a layup at 15:35, putting Massachusetts within two points.
Curry added to his point total, hitting a jumper to bring UMass to a 49-46 deficit with 14:07 remaining.
After St. Bonaventure extended its lead, Thompson and Cohen added two baskets to make it a 55-50 score heading into the under-12 minute media timeout.
Robert Davis Jr. and Hankins-Sanford created a 6-0 run off a pair of triples, bringing the Minutemen to a 58-58 tie at 8:58.
Hankins-Sanford snapped the Bonnies subsequent 6-0 run, hammering a dunk at 6:16 and putting Massachusetts within four points.
Cohen capitalized on an eventual four shots at the free-throw line to make it a two-point game twice.
Cross' dunk at 3:32 brought Massachusetts back to a tie game, 66-66 with 3:30 left to play.
St. Bonaventure held UMass scoreless for a near three minutes to garner a five-point advantage in the final minute of the game.
Cohen added an and-one at the 36 second marker, but the final buzzer sounded to the score 75-67.

New Kids On The Block

Josh Cohen led the newcomers and the entire roster with 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from field goal range. The graduate also notched six rebounds in 26 minutes on the court.
Curry added 11 points of his own, collecting three rebounds and two assists off the bench.
Hankins-Sanford followed behind, adding nine points. His statline included a team-high seven rebounds and two dunks.

Numbers To Know

3: Three Minutemen reached double figures: Cohen, (18 points) Diggins, (12 points) Curry, (11 points).
5: Seniors were celebrated prior to tipoff including Cross, Marcus, and three student managers: Sami Benredda, Luke Spring, and Nick Tantillo
6: Massachusetts led by as many as six points, as opposed to St. Bonaventure's eight.
6: 6-0 marked UMass largest uncontested lead of the game, occurring multiple times.
7: Hankins-Sanford and Cross led the teams in rebounds with seven, respectively.
7: The teams were knotted in a tie on seven separate occasions.
11: UMass capitalized on the fastbreak 11 times during the game.
12: The teams traded leads 12 times over the 40 minutes, a testament to the evenly matched battle.
15: The Minutemen led for 15 minutes of the game before the Bonnies took back the advantage.
23: of the 67 points scored came from players off the bench.
32: Massachusetts collected 32 rebounds on the game.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 32-26 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 320-227 collegiate career record.

Series History

St. Bonaventure got one back in the series, with UMass still holding a 42-35 edge in the series after dropping the 77th all-time matchup between the two programs.

Up Next

The Minutemen return to the road as they face George Washington on Tuesday Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in our nations capital The broadcast can be found on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

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