No one saw a matchup between the two bottom ranked teams of the Atlantic 10 conference going the way it did on Wednesday night.
In triple overtime with 79 combined fouls and nine players fouled out, a game of complete chaos ensued between the Massachusetts men’s basketball team and Fordham. After a three hour and 45 minute long battle, the game eventually came to an end in a 120-118 final and a UMass (7-11, 2-3 A-10) victory.
The last time the Minutemen played in a game that went into triple overtime was 20 years ago, on Jan. 8, 2005 against Xavier. Now, two decades later, this game turned into one that will go down in the history books.
Rahsool Diggins, the star player of the night, netted 46 points and set a record for the most points scored in UMass basketball history.
The Minutemen’s 120 points tied a school record for the most points scored in a game in team history.
Among both UMass and the Rams (8-10, 0-5 A-10), 122 attempted free throws and the nine players fouled out was the most in a NCAA basketball game since at least the 2006-07 season.
This record-breaking night all started when Marqui Worthy scored the game tying three pointer with seven seconds left to force the first overtime period of the night.
Then, as the Minutemen were up three points with only one second left on the clock in the first OT period, Fordham’s Romad Dean sent up a half court shot in hopes of trying to save what many viewers assumed was a sealed game.
However, Daniel Rivera challenged the shot and was called for a foul that sent Dean to the free throw line with a chance to force double overtime. As the third made free throw swished through the net, the Rams had done the unthinkable and the game was headed to its second overtime period.
When the second overtime neared its end, it was free throws once again that put the game on the line. This time, Akil Watson was fouled after going for a rebound while UMass was down one. At the line, Watson went 1-of-2 and the game was tied at 108-108. In fitting fashion for how this game had gone so far, a missed three-pointer from Fordham led to the third overtime period.
Pure exhaustion was evident from both teams at this point of the night as they dug deep into their benches. The Rams were forced to send its walk-on players onto the court when its fifth player fouled out while 13 different Minutemen saw valuable minutes.
During this stretch, the two teams went back and forth with three pointers and free throws. UMass found itself down by four with two minutes remaining, but layups from Diggins and Rivera had the game tied for the 13th time of the night.
After a timeout taken by head coach Frank Martin, the Minutemen had possession with 30 seconds left. Rivera headed to the hoop in an attempt to retake the lead and possibly seal the win. But his shot missed and the ball ended up back into his arms for a second attempt, which missed again and as Nate Guerengomba fought for another rebound, UMass reset themselves on offense.
With 10 seconds left, Diggins passed to Rivera and as the senior made the layup on his third attempt, the scoreboard at Rose Hill Gymnasium displayed a 120-118 final score. It was official, the Minutemen had completed one of the most bizarre games in recent history for college basketball.
“Just an exhausting game,” Martin said. “We make an adventure out of close games, it’s been like that all year. Luckily, I don’t know how, the players had the courage to figure it out in the overtimes after the complete disaster that we created to end the game in regulation, but give the players credit.”
Alongside Diggins, Rivera was an integral part of this win with a career-high 29 points on 9-of-17 from the field. He also had 12 rebounds, marking his sixth double-double of the season, plus three blocks, three assists and two steals.
Only one other player scored in double-figures for UMass and that was Worthy with 13 points. The sophomore, who fouled out, shot 4-of-12 and his only made three-point shot was the one that started it all.
To add to the stat-filled night, the Minutemen had 61 total rebounds which set another school record for the most in a game all-time, with 39 defensive boards and 22 offensive. UMass also had a season-high 12 blocks in the contest.
With its second win in conference play cemented in a game that no one saw coming, the Minutemen now sit at the 11 seed in the A-10 standings.
With rest being much-needed for this UMass team that gave its all on Wednesday night, a home game awaits them. On Sunday, Jan. 19 the Minutemen will face off against La Salle at the Mullins Center with tipoff set for 2 p.m. and will be streamed on the USA Network.
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @samantha_sands_.