The Massachusetts Minutemen (7-3, 0-0 A-10) defeated the Portland Pilots (6-8, 0-0 WCC) 100-78 early Saturday morning. UMass takes the 1-0 lead in the all-time series history against the Pilots.
The Minutemen had started the game out slow, finding themselves down by 6 points at the first media timeout. UMass had kicked into a new gear, where they went on an 8-0 run to take the lead, and never really had the Pilots close with the Minutemen after the midway point of the first half. To end the first half Rahsool Diggins put up a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left it was missed, but Jayden Ndjigue cut down to the basket, got the offensive rebound, and put up a reverse layup that went into the hoop as the buzzer sounded for the first half.
UMass came out in the second half and started hot. Josh Cohen and Matt Cross made back-to-back layups to start the second half, forcing a timeout to be called by the Pilots. UMass went on several different runs in the second half which led to them having a 20-point lead by the under 4 timeout in the second half.
The Minutemen bounced back in free throw shooting going 21-23 from the line. UMass has struggled from the free-throw line all season, especially when it is a close game. Several players went perfect from the line for UMass, which had helped them seal the deal in the victory on Saturday morning.
The Minutemen had four different players reach double digits in scoring Saturday morning. Cohen led the way for UMass with 28 points going a perfect 9-9 from the field and 9-9 from the free throw line. Cohen was the first Minuteman to have a perfect game since Jesse Morgan in February 2012 (having attempted at least 9 field goals). Cross had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Ndjigue and Keon Thompson both had 13 points to round out scorers in double-digits. Ndjigue earned a new career-high in scoring just a day after hitting 11 points against Georgia Tech. Diggins had 9 points, Daniel Hankins-Sanford had 7 points, Robert Davis Jr. had 5 points, Marqui Worthy had 4 points, and Tarique Foster had 2 points to round out all scorers.
UMass utilized their bench toward the end of the game. We got to see Foster, Mathok Majok, Rollie Castineyra, and Ryan Marcus get into the game. The Minutemen have the bench depth that will be beneficial for when conference play kicks off in a few weeks.
The Minutemen will play the Old Dominion Monarch (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) in the fifth-place game on Sunday, December 24th at 10:30am HT/3:30pm ET. This will be the first time that the Monarchs and the Minutemen meet in both of the programs’ histories.
Featured Image: Chris Tucci, UMass Athletics
Kaily “KG” Godek is a current student at Western New England University (WNE). She has been a supporter of UMass Athletics for over 15 years. Kaily focuses on both UMass Basketball teams and occasionally on the other Women’s Basketball teams in the conference. While writing for A10 Talk, she works in the athletic department at WNE. When she graduates from WNE she wants to go into Sports Broadcasting and Journalism. You can follow Kaily on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kgumass23.
