The Massachusetts men’s basketball team lost 87-80 against the Temple Owls in its first game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. The Owls (4-2) were led by Jamal Mashburn Jr., who scored 26 points to secure himself the Basketball Hall of Fame Player of the Game award.
Unlike Temple, the Minutemen (1-4) never found a steady source of offense. Daniel Hankins-Sanford gave the best effort for UMass, finishing the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. This loss is the fourth in a row for the Minutemen as this old rivalry failed to rekindle the winning flame for them.
With seven minutes left in the first half, the Owls held a 32-17 lead, their largest of the day. The tide turned towards UMass as the defensive intensity turned up. Heavy press defense from the Minutemen bench group created multiple turnovers that led to a flurry of free throws and transition buckets that cut the deficit down to just two points.
“We always try hard when we’re down 15, why can’t we try hard when the game starts?” head coach Frank Martin said. “It’s disappointing, but I assume all these lessons will help us as we go down the road here.”
One player who showed significant effort throughout the first half was Shahid Muhammad. The junior center made his first start at the Division I level against Temple as UMass was left to fend without Malek Abdelgowad, who was unavailable to play.
In his first year as a Minuteman, Muhammad has made himself known as a standout rim protector, but his impact stretched into the offensive end in his first start.
Muhammad led UMass in scoring in the first half with 10 points, getting two dunks to go, including a particularly emphatic slam during the 16-3 run late in the first half. Directly after that flashy play, Muhammad drew a foul while boxing out for a defensive rebound and went to the free throw line.
The big man hit all six of his free throw attempts in this game, contributing to the most attempts the Minutemen have had from the charity stripe so far this season. UMass went 31-for-42 from the line, doubling its previous season high in attempts.
“We’ve got to make free throws, we just left 11 more, just left them there,” Martin said. “We can’t keep missing double-figure free throws every game and expect to win close games.”
The shooting struggles were not only present at the free-throw line for the Minutemen as they shot just 39.3 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from beyond the arc. The starter guard duo of Rahsool Diggins and Jaylen Curry shot a combined 5-for-24 from the field and 3-for-14 from three.
Diggins didn’t score his first points until there were two minutes left in the first half. Directly after his mid-range jumper rattled in to bring UMass within a point of the Owls, Steve Settle III got a second-chance bucket to go that stopped the run. Mashburn Jr. then hit a huge three to swing momentum back in Temple’s favor, solidified by a triple from Jameel Brown.
Even after this pair of trifectas, the Minutemen started the second half down by just seven. UMass was fairly efficient on the offensive end to end the game, but undisciplined defense gave too many free points to the Owls for the lead to be dented.
Temple shot 27 free throws in the second half, allowing the lead to be sustained without much effort. The transition play of Shane Dezonie and unstoppable post-fades by Zion Stanford provided diversity to the Owls’ offense and put the game out of reach in UMass’ second-half comeback effort.
Temple’s loss to Florida State the night before didn’t hinder them from putting forward their best effort against the Minutemen. This is something that UMass will look to emulate as they match up against the Seminoles on Nov. 24th at 3 p.m. in game two of the tournament, available to watch on ESPN2.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.
