In a one-possession game with 14 seconds left on the clock, Daniel Rivera headed to the charity stripe to shoot two free throws for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team. As both shots swished through the net, UMass (6-10, 1-2 Atlantic 10) took a four-point lead over Dayton, cementing an upset victory in front of its home crowd.
“I’m really happy for our guys because I kept saying… after every game that we’re right there, we’re not that far off,” head coach Frank Martin said. “We got to fix some things on how we manage our emotions during the course of the game when the game gets hard, and I thought today is the best, in a hard game, [that] we’ve done all year.”
Rivera recorded his fifth double-double of the season to lead the Minutemen to their first win in conference play. The senior tied his career-high in points with 23 on the night to go along with 12 rebounds and three assists. Rivera also made his presence known on the defensive end with two blocks and three steals.
Rahsool Diggins netted 18 points and was the only UMass player to score a three-pointer, making three in the contest. The senior also had three rebounds, six assists, one block and one steal in his fourth straight game of scoring 16 or more points. Marqui Worthy also scored 18 points as the sophomore set a new career-high.
Overall, there were six ties and seven lead changes in the competitive matchup. Despite what the records showed heading into the game, the Minutemen not only matched the Flyers’ (11-5, 1-2 A-10) ability, but outperformed them as the night went on.
One of UMass’ best offensive stretches was a 12-2 run that extended over four minutes in the second half. A dunk by Rivera put the Minutemen up 63-58 with 6:04 remaining, their largest lead of the night over Dayton.
The Flyers opened the game with momentum and set a 10-point lead over UMass 10 minutes in, but the Minutemen fought to close the deficit and eventually took their own lead.
While three-point shooting struggles persisted for both teams, UMass found success in the paint as they outscored Dayton 46-24. The Minutemen also had good offensive rhythm, producing 17 assists.
Outside of scoring, after struggling on the glass in previous games, UMass out-rebounded the Flyers 38-26 with 13 offensive boards. Jayden Ndjigue grabbed seven rebounds with six points on the night. In his third game back after missing nearly a month due to injury, Daniel Hankins-Sanford had four boards of his own.
“[Hankins-Sanford] gives us a physical, active body that pays attention to our rebounding rules offensively, which now allows [Ndjigue] to come flying in there on the weak side and come up with rebounds,” Martin said.
The Minutemen also had their best night all season at the free throw line against Dayton. UMass made 19 of 20 free throws (95 percent), a major improvement from its season average of 64.7 percent.
Although the Minutemen excelled in many areas on the court, perimeter shooting was poor by both teams and quickly became a non-factor as both Martin and Flyers coach Anthony Grant wanted more touches inside. UMass shot 3-of-20 while Dayton went 6-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Despite their general struggles from deep, the Minutemen made up for it in other areas on offense while the Flyers ultimately couldn’t keep up. UMass exhibited some tough defensive plays to disrupt Dayton’s flow and ended the night with five blocks and six steals.
The Flyers’ top scorer this season, Nate Santos, scored 18 against the Minutemen while Javon Bennett netted 17 and Zed Key had 16.
After a two-game homestand, UMass will head on the road for back-to-back away games, with George Mason as its next matchup. The Minutemen and the Patriots will face off on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2:00 p.m. with the game streaming on ESPN+.
“[We] try to stack days [and] not get too high on this game because it’s just one game,” Diggins said. “Try to get better and try to figure out what George Mason does so we can beat them and then move on to the next one, take [it] one game at a time.”
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @samantha_sands_.
