The Davidson Wildcats (15-9, 5-6 Atlantic 10) defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen (11-14, 6-6 Atlantic 10) 77-68 on Wednesday night.
The Minutemen started with an early lead, but the Wildcats were able to over the lead early and did not look back on UMass. Davidson found ways to grab rebounds on both the offensive and defensive boards, which gave them a big rebounding lead over the Minutemen. Three-point scoring was not as big of a factor as it initially looked like it would be. Instead, points in the paint were the big factor in games, and the Wildcats had more than UMass did outsourcing them 44-38 in the paint. The Minutemen did cut what was a seventeen point deficit at the under-4 timeout in the second half down to a seven point deficit but their comeback was not enough to dig them out of the hole they were in.
UMass had four players in double-figure scoring on Wednesday night. Jaylen Curry had 14 points, Daniel Rivera had 12 points, Rahsool Diggins had 11 points and 5 assists, and Jayden Ndjigue had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists to round out scorers in double-digits. Daniel Hankins-Sanford had 9 points and 6 rebounds, Marqui Worthy had 5 points, Shahid Muhammad had 4 points, and Akil Watson had 3 points to round out scorers for the Minutemen.
Davidson had four players in double-figure scoring on Wednesday night. Reed Bailey had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Zach Laput had 13 points, Connor Kochera had 12 points, and Hunter Adam had 10 points for scorers in double-digits. Mike Loughnane had 7 points and 7 rebounds, Bobby Durkin had 6 points and 7 rebounds, and Roberts Blums and Manie Joses each had 4 points to round out all scorers for the Wildcats.
UMass wraps up their homestand on Saturday, February 15th against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (17-9, 5-8 Atlantic 10) at 12pm. Davidson returns home to Belk Arena to face the George Washington Revolutionaries (16-9, 5-7 Atlantic 10) on Saturday, February 15th at 4pm.
Featured Image: Seth Bradley, 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.
