Massachusetts Claims Last Minute Victory Over George Mason, 66-65

AMHERST, MASS. - Massachusetts (14-7, 5-4 Atlantic 10) claimed a tough, 66-65, Atlantic 10 victory over George Mason (15-7, 4-5 A-10) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center. Rahsool Diggins' free throw with .8 seconds remaining sealed the game for the Minutemen.

This one was a ??ar

The Minutemen battle to a BIG Saturday home win in Mullins#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/AEjPVUEK7r
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 3, 2024

In one of the wildest finishes in College Basketball this season, George Mason followed a game-tying layup with a last second foul, allowing Diggins to sink the game-winning shot from the charity stripe.

Diggins finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Josh Cohen led the Minutemen offensively, shooting .500 from the floor (5-10) and going 7-9 from the field to give him a team-high 17 points with six rebounds.

HOLY THREES??????@J11yden and @RahsoolDiggins3 BACK-TO-BACK

2:58 H2 | UMass 61, GMU 56
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 3, 2024

Keon Thompson was an efficient 5-8 from the floor, giving him 12 points as well as dishing out three assists.

Steal??Score??HYPE??

LET'S GO UMASS?? pic.twitter.com/haToIHKb2h
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 3, 2024

The Patriots were led by Keyshawn Hall who had a game-high 23 points with four rebounds.

Breaking Down The Action

Jayden Ndjigue found Josh Cohen in the short corner for the game's first basket at 19:38.
Ndjigue would then hit a pair of free throws and Keon Thompson scored a pair of buckets in the paint as UMass jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
After George Mason took a 10-8 lead, Daniel Hankins-Sanford tied the game back up on a tip-in at 11:13.
The Patriots would go on an 8-0 run, but the Minutemen responded by scoring seven unanswered points of their own. Rahsool Diggins capped off the run by hitting the first three pointer for UMass.
Thompson hit a three to settle the Minutemen as they trailed 28-24 with under two minutes in the half.
UMass would go into the locker room down 30-26.
Matt Cross would get his first points of the game on a second chance basket to bring UMass with two at 18:33 in the second.
Diggins hit a corner three to give UMass its first lead since the 14:20 mark in the first half.
After a flagrant foul on Cohen that put the Patriots up, Diggins hit another three to reclaim the lead at 16:53.
Going the full length of the floor, Thompson scored in transition to give UMass a 43-39 lead to cap a 6-0 run.
Both teams failed to score a field goal in a 2:43 stretch until Cross hit a corner three at 8:39 to give UMass a 48-44 lead.
After a Cross steal on the defensive end of the floor, Thompson hit Ndjigue in transition whose layup tied the game at 55 all with 4:16 remaining in the game.
Ndjigue gave the Minutemen the lead with his first three of the game at 3:58.
Diggins then hit his fourth three of the game on the next possession to extend the UMass lead to five.
With 1.2 seconds remaining, George Mason tied the game at 65 a piece with a layup.
On the inbound, the Patriots fouled Diggins with .8 seconds, putting him at the line for two.
Diggins sank the first one and missed the second and UMass escaped with a 66-65 victory.

New Kids On The Block

Josh Cohen once again led the Minutemen offensively, putting up a team-high 17 points while grabbing six rebounds in 35 minutes.
Jayden Ndjigue scored in double-digits for the fourth time this season, ending with ten points, six rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals.
In 14 minutes, Daniel Hankins-Sanford secured seven rebounds.

Numbers To Know

2: UMass claimed their second straight Atlantic 10 win.
5: Jayden Ndjigue recorded a season-high five assists with no turnovers.
18: The Minutemen cleaned up on the offensive glass, coming away with 18. It is the fourth game this year they have had 18+.
40: UMass recorded 40 rebounds for the ninth time this season.
4,418: fans attended, the most at the Mullins Center this season.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 29-23 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 317-224 collegiate career record.

Series History

UMass now holds a 6-12 record all-time versus the Patriots, claiming the 18th matchup between the two programs.

Up Next

The Minutemen go back on the road, heading to Olean, New York for a 7 p.m. clash with St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at the Reilly Center. The broadcast can be found on the NBC Sports App with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard