At halftime, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team found itself in another Atlantic 10 rock fight.

Both UMass (12-6, 3-3 A-10) and its opponent, the George Washington Revolutionaries, were having mixed results on offense, and it showed in a 31-31 halftime tie. For the Minutemen, three-point shooting continued to be a struggle. Without Matt Cross for the third consecutive game, UMass put even more reliance on a perimeter-led attack, and saw even worse results.

For George Washington (14-4, 3-2 A-10), it was the opposite. The Revolutionaries came into Saturday ranked 16th in the nation in three-point percentage (38.7 percent) and continued to shoot well from deep, going 5-of-16 in the opening frame. Meanwhile, George Washington’s success inside the arc was nearly worse, with the Revolutionaries only making four of their 12 attempts. The contest went to break tied at 31.

Then the second half began, and things changed quickly.

The Minutemen took down George Washington 81-67 thanks to a 50-point second half. On both sides of the ball, UMass was firing on all cylinders, and the team rode its positive momentum to a resounding win.

“Our feelings were hurt [after Wednesday’s loss to Loyola Chicago] and that’s how we started the game today,” head coach Frank Martin said. “[I’m] really proud of them that we figured out a way to regain our spirit halfway through the first half and then obviously just continue to fight to the end of the game.”

The Minutemen didn’t waste any time after heading out of the tunnel, going on a 13-5 run over the first four minutes of the second frame. During that stretch, three 3-pointers were made, quickly surpassing the team’s number of made threes in the first half (two).

Then, an already promising run turned into something even bigger. After the Revolutionaries scored five points within the half’s opening 44 seconds, they were held without a basket for nearly six minutes of game time. During that stretch, UMass would score 17 unanswered points, turning a two-point deficit into a 15-point lead and putting the game away for good.

The leader of that run, and of the game as a whole, was Rahsool Diggins. After a shaky first half with seven points on inefficient shooting, the junior guard spent the second half playing the best ball of his collegiate career. Diggins displayed a confident stroke from deep and continued to attack the rim at the right time, and as a result, a seven-point first half ended up turning into a career-high 25-point performance. The junior shot 6-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep in the second half.

“I’m ecstatic for him,” Martin said. “You can argue him and Jayden [Ndjigue] probably have spent more time on their own in that gym, working on being a good player, than the rest of the team combined…I’m happy he was rewarded.”

“Last couple of games, [my] shots haven’t been falling,” Diggins said. “I just wanted to get some up and it was good to see some go in today.”

Jaylen Curry put in yet another strong performance for UMass in conference play. After scoring a career-high 18 points against Loyola Chicago, the freshman nearly set a new high on Saturday, scoring 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. While the guard continued to be efficient at the rim, Curry found a lot of success at the elbow, where he used screens to convert off-the-dribble mid-range jumpers.

A problem entering Saturday with George Washington was their ability to hold onto the ball. That issue persisted against the Minutemen, and it played a large part in preventing the Revolutionaries from being able to match UMass’ scoring outburst. Led by Ndjigue and Keon Thompson, the Minutemen backcourt swarmed George Washington guards, and their pressure forced many Revolutionary miscues. As a result, George Washington finished with 15 turnovers, and its 67 points tied a season low.

The Revolutionaries were led by a pair of freshman wings, with Garrett Johnson and Darren Buchanan Jr. scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively. The team’s leading scorer, James Bishop IV, finished with just eight points on 2-of-14 shooting after putting up 26 on UMass in a George Washington victory last season.

For the Minutemen, five players finished in double figures. Past Diggins and Curry, Josh Cohen had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Thompson had 13 points and Daniel Hankins-Sanford scored 10. While UMass looked better from deep in the second half, Martin’s squad still made its money in the paint, scoring 44 of its 81 points within that area.

The Minutemen will look to win back-to-back A-10 games for the first time this season at home against Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @DeanWende1.