Massachusetts Drops A-10 Home Opener To Richmond, 72-64

AMHERST, MASS. -- Massachusetts basketball (5-10, 0-2 A-10) fell 64-72 to Richmond (7-8, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center. Four minutemen finished the game in double figures, but Massachusetts could not close out the victory in the A-10 home opener.

Jaylen Curry led all scorers with 18 points, adding eight rebounds and a pair of assists on the afternoon. Backcourt mate Rahsool Diggins followed closely behind, recording 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.

Jayden Ndjigue did a little bit of everything totaling 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals. The Ayer, Massachusetts native shot a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

The Spiders were led by DeLonnie Hunt who tallied 16 points and seven assits in 36 minutes of action.

Breaking Down The Action

Rahsool Diggins started the scoring for the Minutemen, sinking a three-pointer just 15 seconds into the first half.
A top of key three-pointer from Daniel Rivera gave Massachusetts an early 8-2 advantage with 18:10 on the clock.
Five straight points from Jayden Ndjigue capped an 8-0 Minuteman scoring run, giving UMass 1 13-2 lead with 16:41 left in the half.
Back-to-back layups from Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Ndjigue gave Massachusetts it's largest lead of the night at 20-7 with 14:04 to go in the first half.
Richmond responded with an 8-2 scoring run to cut the UMass lead to 22-15.
Two consecutive layups from Richmond's Collin Tanner further ate into the UMass advantage, making the score 27-24 with 5:29 to play in the first half.
Richmond's DeLonnie Hunt sunk a three-point to tie the game at 27-27 with 4:36 on the clock.
Another Hunt three-pointer ended the half, giving Richmond the 34-31 advantage going into the break.
Richmond opened the second on a 5-0 run capped by a driving layup from Hunt just 1:03 into the half.
Diggins responded with a triple from the left wing to make it 39-34 Richmond with 18:16 to play.
A pair of free throws from Richmond's Dusan Neskovic provided the Spiders with a 42-54 lead, their largest of the afternoon.
Jaylen Curry and Ndjigue each worked their way to the free throw line to cut the deficit back to 54-46 with 11:45 left in regulation.
A pair of free throws from Curry capped a 9-3 Massachusetts run, cutting the deficit to four points, 59-55.
The Minutemen remained within striking distance on the final 6:39 on the clock but could not get the deficit down to a one possession game.
The final whistle sounded with the score 64-72.

Newcomer Notifications

Five newcomers saw action on the evening, with Rivera and Abdelgowad entering as starters.
Daniel Rivera scored 10 points, adding six rebounds on the day.
Shahid Muhammad grabbed five rebounds and sank two free throws in 13 minutes.
Malek Abdegowad reeled in five rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
Nate Guerengomba played 5 minutes, knocking down a pair of free throws.

Numbers To Know

8: Jaylen Curry grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
11: With 18 points Curry has now scored in double figures in 11 games this season.
34: Muhammad increased his block total to 34 this season.
67: Curry surpassed his assist total from a season ago, dishing out 67 through 15 games this year.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 9-18 record against the Hawks all-time.
The Minutemen now hold a 2-2 record versus the Spiders under head coach Frank Martin.
Massachusetts is now 17-21 in A-10 play and 25-13 at home with Coach Martin at the helm.

Up Next

The Minutemen perennial A-10 favorite Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The game will be broadcast on Peacock with live updates and links available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Players Mentioned

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Nate Guerengomba

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Players Mentioned

Jaylen Curry

Rahsool Diggins

Nate Guerengomba

Daniel Hankins-Sanford

Shahid Muhammad

Jayden Ndjigue

Daniel Rivera

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics