Massachusetts Falls, 88-82, In Physical Rivalry Clash Against Rhode Island

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (9-12, 4-4 A-10) dropped a physical 88-82 game to Rhode Island (15-6, 4-5) on Wednesday night at the Thomas M. Ryan Center. The Minutemen clawed back from a 21-point second half deficit to bring the game within two points but could not finish the comeback effort against their border rival.

Massachusetts had four players score in double-figures with backcourt mates Rahsool Diggins and Jaylen Curry combining for 26 second-half points to key the comeback bid.

Diggins led the way for the Minutemen with another impressive scoring performance, racking up 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field. Curry followed with 15 points, adding five rebounds and three assists on the evening.

Daniel Rivera contributed 13 points while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Daniel Hankins-Sanford continued to return to early season form, recording his third straight game in double-figures with a 12 point and five rebound effort in 20 minutes of action.

The Rams were led by Sebastian Thomas who recorded a team-high 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Breaking Down The Action

Jaylen Curry recorded the first basket for the Minutemen, generating an early 3-1 lead
A pair of baskets from Shahid Muhammad and a jumper by Daniel Hankins-Sanford gave Massachusetts a 15-7 advantage with 13:22 to go in the first half.
Marqui Worthy traded layups with Rhode Island's Sebastian Thomas to preserve the eight-point lead, Massachusetts largest of the night.
Jaden House finished a and-one layup to cap a 7-0 Rhode Island run and cut the UMass advantage to 17-16 with 10:23 on the clock.
Rahsool Diggins sunk a second-chance jumper to extend the UMass lead back out to five with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
The Rams responded with a 5-0 swing of their own as a House layup tied the score at 21-21 with 9:13 to play in the first.
Four points from Rahsool Diggins pushed the UMass advantage back to 29-25 at the 6:53 marks of the half.
Thomas and House combined for a 6-0 Rhode Island scoring run, giving the Rams a 31-29 advantage with just under five minutes on the clock.
Worthy converted a layup to tie the game at 31-31 with 4:33 on the clock.
Nine points from Thomas keyed a 15-3 Rhode Island run, giving the Rams a 46-34 lead with 1:24 left before halftime.
Massachusetts ended the first half on a 4-0 swing, sending the two teams into the break with the score 46-38 in favor of Rhode Island.
A three-pointer from Jamarques Lawrence capped a 13-0 Rhode Island run to begin the second half, creating a 59-38 Rams advantage with 16:27 remaining.
Curry sunk a deep ball to bring the deficit to 61-47 with 12:37 to go in regulation.
Diggins finished a second-chance basket to cut the deficit to just 10 points with 8:30 on the clock.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford put home an and-one finish to cap a 7-0 Minuteman run and bring the deficit to 74-68 at the 6:32 mark of the half.
Hankins-Sanford hit a top of the key three-pointer to cut the Rhode Island lead to 80-76 with 3:14 to play.
Another jumper from Hankins-Sanford got the Minutemen with two points, 82-80, with just over a minute on the clock.
Rhode Island sunk six free throws to ice the game and claim an 88-82 win on their home court.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Daniel Rivera played 31 minutes before fouling out, scoring 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Malek Abdegowad recorded two points and two rebounds across 12 minutes.
Shahid Muhammad saw 11 minutes of action, recording four points and a block.
Akil Watson played 10 minutes, grabbing four rebounds on the night.

Numbers To Know

3: Curry and Ndjigue each dished out a team-high three assists.
10: The Minutemen recorded 10 steals on the night.
10: Diggins scored in double figures for the tenth consecutive game.
15: Curry has now totaled double-digit points in 15 games this season.
17: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 17 games this season.
39: UMass tallied 39 rebounds across the contest including 19 on the offensive glass.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 95-70 record against the Rams all-time.
Massachusetts has faced Rhode Island more than any other opponent in program history. UConn is the only other program the Minutemen have faced in over 100 matchups.
Massachusetts is now 21-23 in A-10 play and 8-18 on the road with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen complete their two-game road swing as they challenge Duquesne on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard