Massachusetts Secures 10th Conference Win At Davidson, 69-67

DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Massachusetts (19-10, 10-7 Atlantic 10) men's basketball team edged out a narrow 69-67 victory over Davidson (15-14, 5-11 A-10) in Belk Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Minutemen secured double-digit conference victories for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

#BuildItTogether ???? https://t.co/DsvxexLyTc
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) March 2, 2024

In a game with nine lead changes and 11 ties, the Minutemen gutted out a narrow victory in the final three minutes of regulation. Facing a three-point deficit with 1:25 to go, Matt Cross drew two fouls, sinking all four free throws and giving Massachusetts a lead they would not surrender. Despite fighting to the narrow victory down the stretch Massachusetts led for much of the action, holding the lead for over 27 minutes.

Senior Matt Cross led the way for the Minutemen, scoring 26 points including 17 in the second half alone. The forward made the most of his opportunities shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

.@mcsnipes333 is TOO ??

1?2? second half points from our senior has us up down the stretch

7:55 H2 | UMass 54, Dav 51 pic.twitter.com/PiwYPAIqqf
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) March 2, 2024

In his return to Charlotte Daniel Hankins-Sanford came up clutch, recording a 10 point and 12 rebound double-double. Four of the sophomore's eight points came in the final five minutes of action off of offensive rebounds.

.@Danielsanford30 ??????

BIG board and put back for the hometown kid

3:29 H2 | UMass 61, Dav 58 pic.twitter.com/CjrgEPMjDl
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) March 2, 2024

Junior Rahsool Diggins continued to shoot the ball well from deep, scoring 13 points while going 4-for-6 from three-point range.

Massachusetts dominated the glass, totaling 45 rebounds and owning a 18-6 advantage in second chance points.

The Wildcats were led by Reed Bailey who scored a team-high 21 points while securing eight rebounds.

Breaking Down The Action

Josh Cohen got the scoring started for UMass making it a 2-2 game with the clock showing 18:40 in the first half.
Two consecutive baskets from Hankins-Sanford capped an 8-0 UMass scoring run to make it 16-8 with 12:32 remaining in the half.
Rahsool diggins sunk a three-pointer with 2:24 remaining in the half to finish an 8-1 Massachusetts run, giving the Minutemen a 33-25 lead.
Two free throws from Cohen sent the Minutemen into the locker room with a 35-31 advantage at the break
Davidson opened the second half with the hot hand as Reed Bailey at 39-39 with 17:44 remaining in regulation
After trading baskets for much of the next three minutes, Matt Cross scored five consecutive points to extend the UMass lead to 50-45 at the 13:45 mark of the second half.
UMass held the lead for the next 11 minutes of play before a driving layup from Connor Kochera made it 63-64 Wildcats with 2:10 left in the game.
Kochera pushed the Davidson advantage to 63-66 before Matt Cross drew two fouls on back-to-back possessions.
Cross went 4-of-4 from the line giving Massachusetts a 67-66 lead with 28 seconds on the clock.
A final Cross free throw ended the scoring at Belk Arena, as the Minutemen secured a 69-68 win in North Carolina.

New Kids On The Block

Daniel Hankins-Sanford led all newcomers as the transfer 10 points, 12 rebounds and a block in the contest.
Josh Cohen and Jaylen Curry both added eight points on the afternoon, with Cohen also reeling in eight rebounds.
Ndjigue put forward another all-around evening, scoring four points to go along with five rebounds and a career-high three blocks.

Numbers To Know

2: Hankins-Sanford recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds
3: Ndjigue swatted a career-high three blocks on the evening.
10: Massachusetts secured its 10th conference victory of the season, the first time since 2014-15 the Minutemen have achieved double-digit a win total in Atlantic 10 play.
18: Massachusetts held a one-sided 18-6 advantage in second change points.
20: The Minutemen hauled in 20 offensive rebounds, the third time this season they have recorded 20-plus in a single game.
26: Cross tallied 26 points, marking his third game with 20-plus points this season.
45: UMass dominated the glass, owning a 45-31 advantage on the glass.

Year Two Under Coach Martin

Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 34-26 record leading the Minutemen.
Martin now sits with a 322-227 collegiate career record.

Series History

The series now stands at 12-6 in favor of the Wildcats with The Minutemen claiming the 18th matchup between the two programs

Up Next

The Minutemen host Fordham on Wednesday, March. 6 at 7:30 p.m. for the regular season finale at the Mullins Center. The broadcast can be found on NESN+ with live stream available on ESPN+. Links and live updates are available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

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