With two missed shots that could have gifted the Massachusetts men’s basketball team the lead in the final 25 seconds of regulation, the Minutemen (12-18, 7-10 Atlantic 10) came up short in their 73-72 loss to St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
At the line to shoot two, Daniel Hankins-Sanford made the first one, but knocked the second off the rim to keep the Bonnies’ (20-10, 8-9 A-10) lead at one. After UMass’ following possession ended in a shot clock violation, St. Bonaventure headed to the hoop.
The Minutemen went into a press defense and forced the Bonnies to call a timeout as Jaylen Curry had cornered a St. Bonaventure player against the sideline. Then, with 25 seconds left, Hankins-Sanford blocked a layup by Noel Brown that gave UMass possession for what could’ve been the last play of the game.
Hankins-Sanford, who netted a new career-high 22 points, took a jumper in the paint, but it was blocked by Lajae Jones. Following that play, Jones missed a free throw and Jayden Ndjigue found Rahsool Diggins with one second left, but his three-point shot came up short.
“It was good to see us play with some moxie again today and we played better last game, I thought we played competitive today… Offensively we had segments of the game where we were inept and it cost us a win,” head coach Frank Martin said.
With the loss, the Bonnies completed a regular season sweep over the Minutemen after defeating UMass at the Mullins Center on Feb. 15. Unless these two teams meet again in the A-10 tournament, this matchup concludes their series with the Minutemen as an A-10 member.
Hankins-Sanford secured his third straight double-double with his 22-point and 11-rebound performance. The junior shot 9-of-21 with two three-pointers and also had three steals as the leading scorer for UMass.
“[Hankins-Sanford’s] got to learn how to play through contact… and not play around contact, but that’s his next step as a player, but he’s worked his tail off and he’s got a great demeanor and a great spirit about him,” Martin said. “He’s kept us together in difficult times and I’m really happy that he’s playing well as he closes out his junior year.”
Two other Minutemen cracked double-figures as Diggins shot 6-of-16 from the field and 4-of-11 from three for 18 points. Curry scored 16 points with four rebounds and three assists.
Jayden Ndjigue and Shahid Muhammad also had solid contributions for UMass. Ndjigue only scored three points, which came from a three-pointer in the first half, but he also had six rebounds and led the team with five assists.
Muhammad had not played for more than 11 minutes in the Minutemen’s last five games. On Wednesday, he played 18 and produced six points, six rebounds and two blocks.
In the opening minutes of the game, UMass went up 7-0 after a Diggins three-point miss resulted in Muhammad crashing the glass for a putback dunk.
“Give [Muhammad] credit that he was ready to go today in the second half and was able to help us,” Martin said. “He did some good things out there [and] as inconsistent as we’ve been at the center spot this year, we need those guys to help us in any way they possibly can.”
In what ended as a nail-biter, the Minutemen came storming back every time the Bonnies created some distance with the score. Halfway through the first, UMass trailed by 10 points before going on a 26-15 run that resulted in a halftime lead.
The Minutemen won the rebounding battle 42-39 thanks to 16 offensive rebounds. On the other side, St. Bonaventure dominated with 44 points in the paint compared to UMass’ 30.
Despite the grittiness the Minutemen displayed throughout, mistakes once again cost them. UMass committed 16 turnovers, the most since its win over Duquesne on Feb. 1, and lost crucial scoring opportunities as the game winded down.
For St. Bonaventure, Jones scored a team-high 15 points. Melvin Council Jr. and Brown each netted 14.
With the loss, the Minutemen now sit in 10th place in the A-10 standings with one game left before tournament play.
UMass will return to the Mullins Center for its last regular season A-10 game on Saturday, March 8. On senior day, the team will host Loyola Chicago with tip-off at 12:30 p.m. on the USA Network.
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @samantha_sands_.
