Minutemen Complete Season Sweep Of La Salle With Dominant 78-55 Display In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- Massachusetts basketball (11-13, 6-5 A-10) claimed a dominant 78-55 victory over La Salle (12-12, 4-7) on Super Bowl Sunday at John Glaser Arena. The Minutemen took home the win on the back of Rahsool Diggins, who scored a game-high 34 points in his home city.

Philly Special.

Minutemen sweep the season series with La Salle and grab another ?? in @A10MBB play#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/esDDPpk3kj
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 9, 2025

Massachusetts was a force down low, grabbing 47 rebounds while tallying 40 points in the paint. The Minutemen held La Salle to just 36.1% shooting from the field and 21.1% from three-point range.

DHS puttin' it ???????? ??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/FzAlApaNit
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 9, 2025

Diggins shot 13-of-20 from the field, including a 7-of-13 display from deep. The Philadelphia, Pa. native recorded his fourth game with 30-plus points on the season and second in his last three games.

In his city. In his bag ??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/2OrlLDjZqf
— UMass Men's Basketball (@UMassMBB) February 9, 2025

Daniel Hankin-Sanford entered the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 1, tallying 10 points and 12 rebounds on the afternoon. The performance marks his fifth double-double of the season and second in his last three games.

Fellow Charlotte, N.C. native Jaylen Curry had a quality outing in his own right, scoring 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Curry added six rebounds and a pair of steals in the effort.

The Explorers were led by Corey McKeithan who scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field.

Breaking Down The Action

Jaylen Curry opened the scoring for the Minutemen, sinking a spot-up three to make it 3-2 just 30 seconds into the opening half.
Curry came up with a steal and score to create a 7-2 advantage just over a minute later.
Mac Etienne sunk a free throw with 15:00 on the clock to tie the game at 9-9 for La Salle.
Daeshon Shephard finished a driving layup to give the Explorers a three-point advantage, 14-11 with 12:56 left in the first half.
A pair of second-chance buckets from Marqui Worthy and Daniel Rivera gave the lead back to Massachusetts, 15-14 with 11:31 on the clock.
La Salle responded with a 6-0 run as Corey Mckeithan knocked down a three to create a 20-15 lead.
Diggins capped a 10-2 Massachusetts run with a three-pointer of his own to lift the Minutemen to a 25-22 lead with 7:21 to play before the half.
The two opponents traded baskets until an and-one layup from Diggins allowed the Minutemen to create a four-point advantage, 33-29.
Diggins capped the first half with a pull-up jumper, sending the Minutemen into the halftime break with a 35-31 lead.
Diggins and Curry each started the second half with a three-pointer, giving the Minutemen a 41-33 lead at the 17:27 mark.
Hankins-Sanford made it an 8-0 Massachusetts run, giving the Minutemen their first double-digit lead of the night, 43-33.
McKeithan ended a nearly-minute scoring drought for both sides, cutting the La Salle deficit to 43-35.
Jayden Ndjigue quickly responded with a driving layup, making it 45-35 Minutemen with 14:24 left in regulation.
Daniel Rivera slammed home a fast break dunk to generate an 11-point Massachusetts lead, 50-39.
Five points from Diggins keyed a 9-0 Massachusetts run, providing a 59-41 lead with 9:33 to go.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford put home an alley-oop dunk to push the lead to 23-points, 70-47.
Diggins sunk his final three-pointer of the night to give Massachusetts it's largest lead of the day, 72-49.
The whistle sounded with the final 78-55 in favor of the Minutemen.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera entering as a starter.
Rivera recorded six points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
Shahid Muhammad scored eight points while snagging a season-high five rebounds.
Nate Guerengomba played six minutes, totaling two rebounds.
Amadou Doumbia sunk his first three-pointer as a Minuteman.

Numbers To Know

2: The Minutemen completed the series sweep of La Salle, going 2-0 against the Explorers.
3: Three minutemen had double digits performances, Diggins (34), Curry (13), and Hankins-Sanford (10).
5: Hankins-Sanford recorded his fifth double-double of the year.
7: The Minutemen nabbed 7 steals on the night.
8: Diggins tallied his eighth game with 20-plus points this season.
10: Massachusetts recorded its 10th game of the season with 40-plus total rebounds.
17: Curry notched his 17th game in double figures.
20: Massachusetts has now recorded 30 or more points in the paint in 20 games this season.
47: Massachusetts grabbed 47 rebounds including 18 on the offensive glass.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 32-22 record against the Explorers all-time.
The Minutemen have now won three of the last four against La Salle, with all three wins coming by at least 16 points.
Massachusetts is now 23-24 in A-10 play and 10-18 on the road with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen return to Amherst to host conference opponent Davidson on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcast on NESN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

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