As Arizona State pulled away on a dominant 13-0 run halfway through the second half, the Massachusetts basketball team needed a response. With five seconds left on the shot clock, Rahsool Diggins stepped back for a three to cut into the Sun Devils’ (9-2) streak, and as the ball swished through the net, the crowd at the MassMutual Center erupted.
The Minutemen needed those types of plays out of the senior all season, and against Arizona State, UMass (5-8) finally got what they had been looking for out of Diggins.
The Philadelphia native scored 24 points in the Minutemen’s 78-62 loss to the Sun Devils at the MGM Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. This was the most points scored for the senior since UMass’ season opener against New Hampshire on Nov. 4. Diggins had not replicated the essence of his 26-point game to start the season until now.
“Since the Harvard game, he has re-centered himself on what matters and now he’s coming in every day with the mindset that made him a really good player for us,” head coach Frank Martin said.
Diggins’ 24 points were made up of 8-of-17 shooting and a 4-of-8 performance from beyond the arc. He also added four made free throws, two assists, one rebound and one steal to his stat line. Diggins was the only player for the Minutemen to crack double-digit scoring on Saturday, excelling against Arizona State’s defense.
Diggins has scored in double figures in seven out of the 13 games he’s played in so far this season, but this is only the second time he’s scored over 20. This is also the first time all season he has netted 10 or more points in back-to-back games.
So far this season, the senior has averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting just 27.1 percent from three.
While the Sun Devils pulled away late in the second half, it was Diggins’ scoring that kept the game close for UMass throughout. In the first half, Diggins made three three-pointers for nine points that boosted the Minutemen to a 33-31 halftime lead.
Although UMass’ shooting was efficient to open the game–marked by a 50 percent success rate from three in the first half–things spiraled down from there. Diggins was one of the few Minutemen to find offensive success in the second half with 15 points during that stretch.
“You [got to] keep doing it, keep doing it, keep doing it and eventually good things happen because you put in the work…he’s in a good space right now so he got rewarded today,” Martin said. “His ball went in [against] a really good team with fifth-year senior guards.”
Diggins also showed his competence on defense in some tough plays he made throughout the game. In the second half specifically, Diggins crowded Arizona State guards at half-court, forcing tough decisions and difficult shots.
In recent games, while Diggins’ shooting has not been consistent, he’s contributed in other areas on the court to make up for it. Against NJIT, he had a career-high eight assists and against Division III UMass Boston, he had seven. On Saturday, he had just two, but he made other good reads that facilitated UMass’ offense.
Despite that, scoring from deep was one of Diggins’ strong suits last year, and this season, he fell into a slump for most of non-conference play. However, the senior’s shooting is trending in a positive direction, which is perfect timing for the Minutemen with Atlantic 10 play right around the corner.
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @samantha_sands_.
