The Massachusetts men’s basketball team beat Dayton 76-72 to pick up its first win in Atlantic 10 play this season. The Minutemen (6-10, 1-2 A-10) muffled an offensively explosive Flyers (11-5, 1-2 A-10) team thanks to high effort on the defensive end and secure rebounding.
“We have to utilize this [game to] grow in confidence in what we’re doing and [in] who they are as teammates with one another so we can continue to manage the difficult parts of games,” head coach Frank Martin said.
Every player that stepped on the floor for UMass seemed to take pride in their defensive matchup throughout the game, but the guards in particular stepped up an extra level. Rahsool Diggins, Marqui Worthy and Jayden Ndjigue put forward a defensive effort that stifled a pair of Dayton’s top scorers.
Coming in, the Flyers’ starting guard duo of Malachi Smith and Enoch Cheeks averaged over 11 points each on excellent efficiency. On Wednesday, they combined for seven points on 1-of-11 shooting and went 0-of-6 from three.
Overall, Dayton shot 38 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc due to the Minutemen’s aggressive defense. This aggression showed improvement in UMass’ perimeter defense as well as in its pick-and-roll coverage, which Martin’s mentioned as a weak point for the team.
This defensive aggression paying off was best characterized by a strong all-around possession early in the first half. With an on-ball screen set at the top of the key, Minutemen center Amadou Doumbia blitzed the screen to deny an open three for the Flyers. Dayton dumped the ball to the roller Zed Key for what seemed to be an easy look, but Diggins crashed quickly from the corner to contest his shot, giving Doumbia time to recover and block Key from behind.
“I’ve sat here and complained about our five spot a lot, I’m tired of complaining, I gave [Doumbia] a chance,” Martin said. “His competitive spirit is something that we lack, and he gave us that today.”
With so much movement and versatility in UMass’ defensive approach, the Flyers had no choice but to take advantage of what sometimes looked like organized chaos by getting to the free-throw line. Dayton went 28-of-38 at the charity stripe against the Minutemen, tying the most attempts any opponent has had against UMass this year.
The Minutemen did have to manage some foul trouble late at the center spot as Doumbia, Malek Abdelgowad and Daniel Hankins-Sanford all had four fouls in the game’s closing minutes. Hankins-Sanford was an integral part of the defensive unit that closed out the game before fouling out with 18 seconds left. Abdelgowad stepped in for those final moments and reeled in the game-sealing rebound, allowing Diggins to dribble out the clock.
Rebounding was a well-wielded double-edged sword for UMass in this game. The Minutemen dominated the glass on both ends to finish with a 38-26 advantage over the Flyers. Daniel Rivera thrived in this aspect on his way to his fifth double-double of the year, pairing a season-high 12 rebounds with 23 points.
“Rivera was a good rebounder when he’s standing under the basket,” Martin said. “He’s starting to figure out how [to] track rebounds on the back side.”
Rivera averages the second-most offensive rebounds per game (3.0) in the A-10, and he reeled in four against Dayton. Two of those came just before he hit a clutch shot with a minute and a half to play. The forward crashed the offensive glass hard, attempting to tip in a missed three by Diggins, but he missed the layup attempt. He then corralled his miss and took advantage of a smaller defender to put a stamp on his dominance in the paint in this game.
Past Rivera, Ndjigue grabbed six offensive rebounds, supplying his team with all the extra chances they needed to find an offensive flow. Martin mentioned that his hustle on the weak side was important in putting up those numbers. Daniel Hankins-Sanford also contributed as he continued his recovery from an injury, finishing with four rebounds of his own.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.