The Massachusetts men’s basketball team struggled at times to produce on offense in its loss against George Mason. The Minutemen (6-11, 1-3 Atlantic 10) couldn’t find a consistent offensive flow in their halfcourt sets. The Patriots (12-5, 3-1 A-10) warded off UMass’ attack with man-to-man defense and rebounded well to seal defensive possessions.
“We kept trying to execute what was being called and [we were] attacking the paint,” head coach Frank Martin said. “But you can’t shoot 36 percent from the field and get out-rebounded by 17 and expect to win.”
The offensive struggles swelled for the Minutemen late in the first half as George Mason’s lead increased to 11 points. UMass’ attack then surged, though, as it turned defense into offense at a rapid pace.
A steal by Malek Abdelgowad turned into a quick Daniel Rivera bucket with 50 seconds to play in the first half. On the next possession, another defensive stop produced an and-1 for Rivera just three seconds after a rebound was corralled. To finish the half, Jaylen Curry got a steal and layup at the buzzer to cap a 7-0 Minutemen run.
Throughout the game, UMass built a 22-10 advantage in fastbreak points as well as a 25-10 advantage in points off turnovers to go with 11 steals. Eight Minutemen finished the game with at least one steal while the guard trio of Curry, Rahsool Diggins and Marqui Worthy all finished with two.
Defense turning into offense was key for UMass to establish an offensive rhythm, but both its and the Patriots’ overactive defenses ended up being an obstacle to the road team’s success.
“We felt that if we can speed them up, we can create an open court and now take advantage of their bigs,” Martin said. “It worked at times during the game [but] we hit those segments where we couldn’t score and then with the fouls and free throw shooting, the game slows down [and] you can’t get out and run.”
There were a total of 34 fouls called in the second half between both teams, greatly slowing the pace of the game and forcing the Minutemen to create open looks in half-court offensive sets. UMass struggled there, as it couldn’t find a way to work around the length of George Mason both at the rim and on the perimeter.
“When they got bigger guards than us, it’s really hard to pass the basketball,” Martin said. “I went to a Final Four [because] my guards were [6-foot-7], [6-foot-6] and [6-foot-4] and that length made us one of the elite defensive teams in the country.”
The Minutemen had a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the second half as players searched for a way to get the offense moving through a sea of talented defenders. UMass found success in consistently getting to the free-throw line, but it couldn’t keep the Patriots from doing the same. The home team shot 17-of-25 at the charity stripe in the second half to the Minutemen’s 16-of-22 mark.
This, along with George Mason’s prominence in the paint in the first half, allowed the home team to put the game out of reach despite a late UMass push.
The Minutemen will look to get back in the win column when they visit Fordham on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.. That game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.
