Massachusetts Drops 73-69 Decision To CCSU

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (3-6) fell 73-69 to CCSU (5-3) on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen traded the lead late into the second half, but were unable to find a scoring run to seal the win, falling by a narrow four-point margin.

Daniel Rivera led the Minutemen with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, recording a double-double in consecutive games. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native played 33 minutes, shooting 7-of-14 from the field.

Rahsool Diggins found the basket in the second half, ending the evening with 14 points to go along with five rebounds. Diggins sunk three of his four three-pointers in a two-minute span, driving an 8-3 Massachusetts scoring run that gave the Minutemen a 58-57 lead with six minutes remaining in the second half.

The Blue Devils were led by Devin Haid who tallied a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds.

Breaking Down The Action

The Blue Devils took an early 3-0 lead after a shot from behind the arc by Devin Haid kicked off the scoring for the night.
Despite a layup by Malek Abdelgowad, CCSU would take an early 7-3 lead with a run capped by a dunk from Max Frazier.
Jaylen Curry added a three-pointer at 14:03 to put Massachusetts within one point, 9-8.
Curry notched a pair of baskets including a three-pointer to give UMass a 10-9 advantage at the 11:59 media timeout.
Less than a minute out of the timeout, the Blue Devils retook the lead with a three-pointer by Joe Ostrowsky.
The teams went on to trade baskets, highlighted by a triple from Akil Watson to tie the game at 15-15 with 10:41 remaining in the first half.
The Blue Devils mounted a 7-0 run, granting them a seven-point advantage at 7:13.
Rivera keyed an 11-2 UMass run with a free-throw and layup across four minutes to put the Minutemen on top, 28-26.
UMass' Jayden Ndjigue splashed a three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to send both teams into halftime with the socre 33-31 in favor of CCSU.
CCSU went on an 11-2 run over four minutes to begin the second half, making the score 44-33 with 15:54 left in the game.
Diggins' first three of the night cut the deficit to single digits at 15:38.
Massachusetts assembled a 7-0 run across three minutes, keyed by a layup from Curry at 13:53 to cut the deficit to 47-43.
Diggins' found momentum from beyond the arc, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to bring UMass within one point with 7:56 remaining in the game, 54-53.
Nate Guerengomba and Ndjigue each secured second-chance layups, while Diggins hit yet another triple to make it a 58-57 game at 6:13.
Rivera generated a three-point play on the fast break to grant Massachusetts back the lead with 4:36 remaining in the game, 63-61.
The Blue Devils came back with a 5-0 run, before Rivera added a pair of free throws and a jumper to put UMass back within one point of the lead at 2:11.
CCSU added a pair of baskets late to cement their 73-69 victory as the final buzzer sounded.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Rivera recorded a double-double in back-to-back games with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Rivera set a new season high with seven field goals made on the night.
Gurengomba shot 2-3 from the field goal and was perfect from the charity stripe.

Numbers To Know

2: Ndjigue matched his season high two steals.
3: Three Minutemen finished the game in double digits, Rivera (19), Diggins (14), Curry (10).
3: Rivera recorded a new season high in points (19), field goals made (7), and field goal attempts (14).
4: Ndjigue set a new season high with four assists.
11: UMass scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities.
32: The Minutemen scored 32 points in the paint on the evening.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 9-5 record against the Blue Devils all-time.
The two programs previously faced each other during the 2023-24 campaign with Massachusetts securing an 89-60 victory on Nov. 22 in Amherst, Mass.

Up Next

The Minutemen face UMass Lowell for the Kennedy Cup on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 12 p.m. in the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcast on NESN+ with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Daniel Rivera

Rahsool Diggins

Jaylen Curry

Jayden Ndjigue

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Nate Guerengomba

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Akil Watson

Players Mentioned

Malek Abdelgowad

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Nate Guerengomba

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Akil Watson

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics