Massachusetts Triumphs Over A-10 Rival Rhode Island, 91-88

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (12-17, 7-9 A-10) claimed a 91-88 victory over Rhode Island (17-11, 6-10) in an A-10 thriller at the Mullins Center on Saturday evening.

After trading leads for much of the first half, the Minutemen rallied behind second half performances from Daniel Hankin-Sanford and Rahsool Diggins in the final 20 minutes of play; mounting a 14-0 run that put them back in the game.

Notably Rahsool Diggins scored his 1,000th point becoming the 53rd Minuteman in program history to join the illustrious club. The senior guard has scored 1,017 of his 1,024 career points in a Massachusetts uniform. With 29 points on the night Diggins moved 50th on the Massachusetts all-time scoring list, now sitting two points behind Maxie Esho (1,019 points) and Raphiael Putney (1,019) for 48th.

Diggins led the way for the Minutemen, adding six assists and three steals in 35 minutes of playing time. The senior went 9-of-16 from the field, and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe

Jaylen Curry was close behind with 22 points, eight assists and four rebounds. The Charlotte, North Carolina native shot an impressive 5-of-8 from three-point range.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford scored a career-high 19 points while pulling in a team-high 12 rebounds. The fellow Charlotte native notched his seventh double-double of the season, moving him into a tie with teammate Daniel Rivera for third in the A-10. Notably, Hankins-Sanford scored back-to-back three-pointers to grant Massachusetts the deciding lead.

The Rams were led by David Green who notched 30 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.

Breaking Down The Action

Curry opened the scoring, completing a jumper at 19:37 to grant UMass an early lead.
The teams traded baskets, until Malek Abdelgowad finished a layup to give UMass a 10-9 edge with 16:57 remaining in the first half.
The back and forth play continued, while Diggins' triple at 15:14 brought the score to 17-15.
After two more lead changes, Curry's three-pointer gave Massachusetts a one-point advantage with 12:24 on the clock.
Curry's basket keyed what would be an 8-0 run elapsed across 1:13 to put UMass up 27-21 with 11:39 remaining in the first half.
Diggins notched his 1,000th point at the 11:39 marker on and-one to put Massachusetts ahead by a then game-high six points.
Rhode Island answered back with a 6-0 run of their own to make it a knotted 27-27 game at 10:13.
The team once again traded baskets, until the Rams went on an 8-0 run to give them a 37-31 lead with 7:48 left on the clock.
Curry sounded back with another three-pointer before Rhode Island garnered three more baskets to make it a 41-34 game at 6:47.
Marqui Worthy soon after added a pair of driving layups to put UMass within three points of the lead.
Despite baskets from UMass, the Rams added to their lead making it a 54-44 game with 1:09 remaining in the first half.
Diggins added a layup and free throw to conclude the first half, the score reading 56-47 heading into halftime.
Curry opened up the second half scoring for UMass, scoring a three-pointer to make it a 58-50 game with 19:19 left in the game.
The teams went back and forth, until Diggins splashed a pair of consecutive triples to put the Minutemen within five points of the lead at the 14:35 marker.
The cat and mouse action persisted, until Massachusetts mounted a 14-0 run over four minutes to grant UMass back the lead for the first time since the first half, 81-77.
Notably during this stretch, Hankins-Sanford hit a pair of three-pointers to give UMass the four-point advantage with 6:30 remaining in the game.
Sebastian Thomas's jumper snapped Massachusetts momentum, before Worthy added one of his own at 4:34.
Hankins-Sanford banked a pull-up jumper with four minutes left in the game to add to UMass' lead, 85-82.
Rhode Island's David Green scored a three-pointer at 2:53 to make it a locked 85-85 score.
Diggins' created a 6-0 run of his own to put UMass up 90-85 with nine seconds remaining in the game.
The Rams' Jamarques Lawrence sunk a pull-up triple with just over two seconds left, but the Rams could not cut down the deficit, the final buzzer sounding with the score 91-88.

Newcomer Notifications

Three newcomers saw action on the evening, with Adelgowad entering as a starter.
Malek Abdelgowad played 9 minutes, recording four points and two rebounds.
Luka Damjanac netted two points, three rebounds and one steal in a career-high 23 minutes on the court.
Shahid Muhammad played 11 minutes, scoring two points and one rebound.

Numbers To Know

3: Three Minutemen reached double figures in Diggins, (29 points) Curry, (22 points) and Hankins-Sanford (19 points).
3: Hankins-Sanford notched his third straight game with 10 or more rebounds.
7: Hankins-Sanford recorded his seventh double-double of the season; and his second consecutive.
12: rebounds was a team-high for Hankins-Sanford.
14: The Minutemen went on a 14-0 run in the second half to spur the comeback victory.
19: Hankins-Sanford scored a career-high 19 points in the contest.
29: Diggins scored a team-high 29 points on the evening.
34: of Massachusetts 91 points were scored in the paint.
1,000: Diggins joined the 1,000 point club, becoming the 53rd Minutemen in program history to reach the mark.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 96-70 record against Rhode Island all-time.
Massachusetts is now 24-28 in A-10 play and 28-16 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.
Massachusetts has faced Rhode Island 166 times, more than any other opponent in program history. UConn is the only other program the Minutemen have faced in over 100 matchups.

Up Next

The Minutemen head to Olean, New York and face St. Bonaventure for final A-10 roadtrip. 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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Team Stats

Rahsool Diggins

Jaylen Curry

Hankins-Sanford Daniel

Marqui Worthy

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Luka Damjanac

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Marqui Worthy

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Luka Damjanac

Rahsool Diggins

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Daniel Rivera

Marqui Worthy

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics