Minutemen Erase 10 Point Deficit, Defeat Dayton 76-72

Team	1	2	F
Dayton	39	33	72
Massachusetts	36	40	76

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (6-10, 1-2 A-10) claimed a 76-72 victory over Dayton (11-5, 1-2) on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center. Three Minutemen finished the game with 18 or more points, as Massachusetts secured its first conference victory of the season.

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— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 9, 2025

Daniel Rivera did a little bit of everything, as he led all scorers with 23 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting, added 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Rashool Diggins and Marqui Worthy followed suit putting up 18 points each and combing for six rebounds and eight assists.

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— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 9, 2025

It's the first time UMass has defeated Dayton since the 2017-18 season, when the Minutemen bested the Flyer's 86-82 in a double-overtime thriller on Feb. 3, snapping an eight-game losing streak. It also marks the first time Massachusetts has rallied from a 10-point deficit to win since it did so against Dartmouth on Dec. 12, 2022.

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— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 9, 2025

The Flyers were led by Nate Santos who finished with 18 points, to go along with three rebounds and an assist.

Breaking Down The Action

Malek Abdelgowad Started the scoring for the Minutemen, dropping in a layup to knot the game 2-2 with 19:19 left in the first half.
Rahsool Diggins sank a pair of free throws to keep the game tied at six with 17:08 on the clock.
Jayden Ndjigue sank a layup to respond to back-to-back three-point shots by Dayton's Javon Bennett and Nate Santos with 15:10 in the first half, cutting the Flyer lead to 12-8.
Marqui Worthy's five-straight points ended near three-minute scoring drought for the Minutemen with just under 12 minutes left to play in the half to make it 17-12 Dayton.
A right wing three-pointer and a and-one layup from Diggins capped off a 6-0 run to cut Massachusetts deficit to 22-18 with under nine minutes left to play in the half.
Daniel Rivera kept the game close with a layup and two free throws at the 5:42 mark to make the score 27-23.
A pair of free throws from Rivera cut the lead down to one possession with 4:26 left in the half.
Amadou Doumbia converted an and-one with 1:45 left to make the score 35-34.
A Dayton layup with 14 seconds left ended the half, giving the Flyer's a 39-36 advantage going into the break.
Diggins opened the second half with a three-pointer to tie the game at 39-39 just 49 seconds in.
Ndjigue sank a pair of free throws to give the Minutemen their first lead since the opening minute of the game, 41-39 with 18:53 left in the game.
A floater by Diggins with under 14 minutes left snapped a 7-0 Dayton run, to pull Massachusetts within one, trailing 48-47.
Jaiun Simon made a layup pushing Dayton's lead back to 55-51 with 11:36 left on the clock.
Diggins made a floater to cap off a 6-0 run for the Minutemen, giving Massachusetts a 57-56 lead with over eight minutes left in the game.
A steal and flush from Diggins added to a subsequent 6-0 run, pushing the UMass lead to 63-58 with 6:04 on the clock.
A string of offensive rebounds capped off by a Marqui Worthy jumper kept the UMass lead at 4, 67-63 with 4:17 left in the game.
Diggings buried a three-point shot from the left corner to extend Massachusetts lead 70-65 with just over three-and-a-half minutes on the clock.
Rivera put back his own miss giving the Minutemen a 72-70 lead 1:22 remaining.
The Minutemen closed the game out thanks in part to a Worthy fadeaway finding the bottom of the net with 34 seconds to go, pushing the lead to 74-71.
The final whistle sounded with the score 76-72.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Daniel Rivera scored a game high 23 points while snagging 12 rebounds, 3 steals and two blocks.
Amadou Doumbia recorded five points and two rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
Malek Abdegowad played seven minutes, scoring two points.
Nate Guerengomba saw eight minutes on the court, scoring two points.

Numbers To Know

5: Rivera recorded his fifth double-double of the season.
6: Diggins dished out a game-high six assists.
12: Rivera reeled in a game high 12 rebounds.
13: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 13 games this season.
23: Rivera scored a game high 23 points.
25: The Minuteman bench added 25 points on the night.
46: Massachusetts scored 46 points in the paint.
90: The Minutemen shot 95% from the free throw line, shooting 90% or better from the charity stripe for the first time since Nov. 19, 2021 vs UNC Greensboro.

Series History

With the win, Massachusetts now holds a 15-20 record against the Flyers all-time.
Massachusetts is now 18-21 in A-10 play and 26-13 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen travel for faceoff with George Mason on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. in Fairfax, Va. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Rahsool Diggins

Amadou Doumbia

Nate Guerengomba

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Marqui Worthy

Team Stats

Rivera Daniel

Worthy Marqui

Diggins Rahsool

Ndjigue Jayden