The Massachusetts Minutemen (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) lost to the West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) in a close battle on Friday night 75-69. The Mountaineers take a 29-14 lead over the Minutemen in the series history.
UMass started strong in the scoring column but then faced scoring droughts throughout the first half. West Virginia capitalized on the scoring drought from the Minutemen and outscored them 45-28 through the first half. After the second half started, the Mountaineers struggled from the field and were in multiple scoring droughts. UMass took advantage of West Virginia’s struggles and cut into the lead with multiple scoring runs within the second half. The Minutemen could have taken the lead, and cruised to their first road win of the year if they did not miss free throws in the second, then the game could have been closer.
UMass had four players in double-figure scoring on Friday night. Rahsool Diggins led the way with 19 points, Daniel Rivera had 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Jaylen Curry had 13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1 block, and Daniel Hankins-Sanford had 13 points and 11 rebounds to round out all scorers in double digits. Marqui Worthy had 4 points, Shahid Muhammad had 4 points and 2 blocks, and Malek Abdelgowad had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists to round out scorers for the Minutemen.
UMass continues its road trip with a neutral-site game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Conference USA) on Wednesday, November 13th, at 6 p.m. The game will be played at the Nassau County Coliseum as part of the Icons of the Game doubleheader. At the first-ever Icons of the Game event, they will be honoring multiple coaching legends who coached at the collegiate or professional level. One of this year’s honorees is former Temple coach John Chaney, who coached the Owls from 1982 to 2006 during a peak time of the Atlantic 10 Conference. This will be the first-ever matchup in series history between the Minutemen and the Bulldogs.
Featured Image: 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 either Sports Broadcasting and Journalism or Coaching. You can follow Kaily on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kgumass23.
