Minutemen Power Past Riverhawks in 80-60 Victory

AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts basketball (6-3) posted a dominating 80-60 win against UMass Lowell (3-7) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen were led by Jayden Ndjigue with 15 points going 5-for-8 from the field and perfect from the charity stripe (5-for-5). The junior recorded six rebounds, four assists and also added five steals. Ndjigue became the first Minutemen to swipe five steals in a game since Jaylen Curry against Northeastern (12/18/24).

Marcus Banks Jr. led the team in 17 points, adding three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Leonardo Bettiol scored 13 points going 3-for-3 from the free throw line, with six rebounds, an assist and a block. K'Jei Parker and Daniel Hankins-Sanford each contributed 12 points.

The Riverhawks were led by Darrel Yepdo who matched the game-high 17 points, going 6-of-11 from the field and recording four rebounds and two assists

Breaking Down the Action

After an early tie, six points Daniel Hankins-Sanford gave the Minutemen a 14-11 lead.
Yepdo's three-pointer gave UMass Lowell their first lead of the afternoon.
The teams traded baskets and then back-to-back buckets from Parker, including a three, gave the Minutemen a 24-22 lead with 6:45 left in half.
Ndjigue's spin move opened a 6-0 run over nearly two minutes to extend the Massachusetts lead.
Banks Jr.'s three-pointer engineered a 7-0 run in less than a minute to take a 42-32 advantage into the halftime break.
The Riverhawks opened the second half with a pair of baskets from Yepdo to cut their deficit to six.
Off of a Hankins-Sanford's block, Banks Jr.'s fast break layup brought the lead back to double-digits.
After exchanging baskets, Dimitri Clerc's dunk capped a 7-1 Massachusetts run over two minutes.
Ndjigue tallied five straight points converting an and-one and adding two from the charity stripe for a 64-45 scoreline.
Bettiol and Banks Jr. combined for seven points with 3:46 left on the clock to extend the Massachusetts lead.
For the remaining minutes, the Riverhawks outscored the Minutemen, 9-4, but the Maroon and White took an 80-60 victory.

Numbers To Know

5: Five Minutemen reached doubles figures: Banks Jr. (17), Ndjigue (15), Bettiol (13), Hankins-Sanford (12) and Parker (12).
5: Ndjigue tabbed five steals over the afternoon.
10: Hankins-Sanford and Parker put up 10 points apiece in the first half.
13: Combined, the Minutemen recorded 13 steals.
19: Massachusetts scored 19 points off of turnovers.
39: The Maroon and White grabbed 39 rebounds over the afternoon.
48: The Minutemen recorded 48 points in the paint.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds an 11-4 record against the Riverhawks all-time.
Massachusetts is now 6-3 on the season and 53-50 with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen face Boston College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10 in the Hall of Fame Classic at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Tickets are available through the MassMutual Center.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Marcus Banks Jr.

Jayden Ndjigue

Leonardo Bettiol

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Players Mentioned

Marcus Banks Jr.

Leonardo Bettiol

Dimitri Clerc

Jaylen Curry

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Jayden Ndjigue

K'Jei Parker

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics