Minutemen Come Up Short In Physical Game Against George Mason, 77-70

FAIRFAX, VA. -- Massachusetts basketball (6-11, 1-3 A-10) dropped a 77-70 game to George Mason (12-5, 3-1) on Saturday afternoon at EagleBank Arena. The Minutemen turned the Patriots over 17 times but we unable to fully capitalize, falling on the road.

Massachusetts scored 25 points off George Mason turnovers, successfully speeding up the game for stretches of time. The Minutemen scored 22 points in the fast break, a stark contrast to just 10 for the Patriots

Rahsool Diggins led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. The senior guard is now averaging 22 points on 40.3% shooting in Atlantic 10 play.

Jaylen Curry contributed 15 points, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Marqui Worthy continued a strong stretch of play, recording 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Curry and Worthy were both solid in possession with neither recording a turnover on the afternoon.

The Patriots were led by Darius Maddox who scoring 18 points, shooting 7-of-15 from the field.

Breaking Down The Action

Rahsool Diggins started the scoring in the matchup, sinking a three-pointer just over two minutes into the first half.
Daniel Rivera finished a tough driving layup to give Massachusetts a 7-5 advantage with 14:32 on the clock.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford followed with a three-pointer from the right wing to create a five-point Minuteman advantage.
George Mason's Jared Billups sank a three-pointer to cap a 6-0 run and give the Patriots a 11-10 advantage with 12:18 left in the first.
Jaylen Curry drew a foul on a top of the key three-point attempt, sinking all three from the charity stripe to retake the lead at 13-11.
George Mason quickly responded as Jalen Haynes finished a dunk to make the score 17-13 Patriots.
A layup from Giovanni Emejuru capped a 11-0 Patriots run to extend the George Mason lead to 24-13 with 6:14 to play in the first half.
Curry sunk a pair of free throws with 5:16 to go in the half to bring the deficit to 26-19.
Marqui Worthy finished two driving layups keep the Minutemen within striking distance at 29-23.
A and-one layup capped a solo 5-0 run for Daniel Rivera to keep the deficit at six points for Massachusetts with 18 seconds to play in the half.
A Diggins steal ended in a fast break layup for Curry to cap a 7-0 run and cut the halftime deficit to 36-32.
Diggins answered a jumper from the Patriots Darius Maddox with a three-pointer just 36 seconds into the second half.
Maddox sunk a three-pointer to make it 43-35 in favor of George Mason.
Diggins put in a jump shot, cutting the Massachusetts deficit to 44-39 with 15:08 to play.
Marqui Worthy finished a tough and-one layup to cut into the Patriot lead, 48-43 with 12:28 on the clock.
KD Johnson sunk three free throws extending the George Mason lead back to double digits, 53-43.
A three-pointer from Zach Anderson capped a 5-0 George Mason run, the score sitting at 58-47.
Diggins dropped in a three-pointer drawing the deficit back to 66-57 with 3:30 left in regulation.
A Rivera steal fueled a Diggins fastbreak layup, further cutting into the George Mason lead, 70-63.
The late surge from Massachusetts ultimately fell short as George Mason claimed a 77-70 win in Fairfax, Va.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Daniel Rivera scored nine points, adding five rebounds in 35 minutes.
Amadou Doumbia played eight minutes, recording two rebounds and a steal.
Malek Abdegowad saw 14 minutes of action, reeling in a team-high six rebounds.
Akil Watson swiped two steals in five minutes of action.

Numbers To Know

5: Five different players recorded two assists in the game.
11: The Minutemen swiped 11 steals.
17: Massachusetts forced 17 turnovers on the afternoon.
21: Diggins scored a game high 21 points.
22: The Minutemen scored 22 points in the fast break
24: The Minuteman sunk 24 free throws.
25: Massachusetts tallied 25 points off George Mason turnovers.

Series History

With the win, Massachusetts now holds a 6-13 record against the Patriots all-time.
Massachusetts is now 18-22 in A-10 play and 8-17 on the road with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen head to the Big Apple for a matchup with Fordham on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Bronx, NY. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

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