On Saturday, Massachusetts defeated in-state rival Lowell with a final score of 91-77. The Minutemen had four players score double-digits in this game led by forward Josh Cohen who scored 25 and picked up his first double-double with the Minutemen. Massachusetts picked up their sixth win in series history and the largest margin of victory since the 2019 matchup between both teams.
Both teams made it a point to garner offense through the paint and nobody exemplified this more than Cohen. Overall, his 25 point performance is his second-most on the season and his 10 field goals made are a season-high. On the other end of the court, Cohen added 14 rebounds and four steals, both season highs.
Guard Ayinde Hikim, the leading scorer in the America East conference, scored six of Lowell’s first 17 points but only seven across the rest of the game.
The action went back and forth for the first 10 minutes until Keon Thompson added a three-pointer. This was his first basket of the night and it gave Massachusetts a 20-17 lead. Thompson added 10 points and six assists following his 19 point performance against Towson last week.
Upon getting the lead, the Minutemen never looked back and held the lead for the rest of the game. Cohen’s post-game dominated the first half for Massachusetts as he scored 17 points.
The Minutemen hit 50% of their shots in the first half and scored 45 points in the same first half. On the other side, Lowell only shot 37.5% from the field in the first half. Massachusetts also won the turnover battle in the first half 5-9 and 13-16 across the whole game.
Cohen’s four blocks and two steals were crucial aspects of the Minutemen’s defensive game but guard Rashool Diggins and forward Matt Cross also added two steals.
Diggins had a slow first-half but was a key offensive piece in the second. This included two pivotal three-pointers that added to his 15-point total on the day.
Forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford also had a strong day on offense as he added eight points to the Minutemen total. This was the most points for him since the second game of the season against Quinnipiac.
Massachusetts seemed to work at improving their defense following the Towson game as they were aggressive but the Minutemen took avoidable defensive fouls that plagued them.
With just over four minutes left, the men in maroon took a 28-point lead, their largest of the game following a Matt Cross dunk. For Cross, it was a quiet night for his standards. He only scored ten points, six rebounds and five assists.
After this, Massachusetts leaned into their reserves and Lowell was able to pick up a few garbage time points. But still, the Minutemen picked up a decisive 91-77 victory.
What’s Next
The Minutemen now turn their focus to the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the MassMutual Center in Springfield next weekend. UMass will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.
WVU (3-5) is coming off of a solid season that netted them a ninth seed in the NCAA tournament last season. However, the Mountaineers have struggled to find their footing this season.
This is mainly due to the loss of longtime head coach Bob Huggins. Close losses to St. Johns and Virginia are also key contributors to their slow start.
The Mountaineers currently sit at 193rd in the NCAA NET Rankings and hold a 0-4 record against quad-one and two opponents.
The team is led by forward Quinn Slazinski. He averages 17 points per game which is seventh in the Big 12. He is also adding 5.1 rebounds per game. Just behind him is center Jesse Edwards. He averages 16.2 points per game, the 11th most in the Big 12. Edwards is also adding 9.3 rebounds per game, tied for second in the conference.
The Mountaineers are only averaging 64.2 points per game as a whole which is last in the conference. They are also last in three-point shooting percentage at 29.7% which UMass will look to capitalize on.
