AMHERST, MASS. – Massachusetts (11-4, 2-1) secured its second conference win of the season with an 81-65 victory over La Salle (10-6, 1-2) at the Mullins Center on Wednesday evening. Josh Cohen led the Minutemen with his second double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.  

Cohen went 9-of-19 from the field while knocking down a three and making five free throws. The double-double is his second in a UMass uniform. 

Checking in on @Josh_Cohen35

??14 PTS
??6 REB#Flagship?? https://t.co/46kIFGVCGG pic.twitter.com/kl9sPpKP71

— UMass Men’s Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 11, 2024

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Jaylen Curry and Daniel Hankins-Sanford each provided a spark off the bench as the duo finished with 12 and 10 points respectively. Curry went 6-7 from the field with four assists while Hankins-Sanford grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for his first career double-double. 

That Charlotte Connection??

Jaylen??DHS for the hammer#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/dYKHsi2JDz

— UMass Men’s Basketball (@UMassMBB) January 11, 2024

The Minutemen were 31-63 (.492) from the field with 42 points in the paint and 21 points off turnovers. UMass held their opponent to under 70 points for the fifth game in a row. The Minutemen also had a double-digit rebounding differential for the fifth time this season, outrebounding the Explorers 44-31. 

The Explorers were led by Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi who led the team with 14 points while going 4-9 from range. 
 

Breaking Down The Action 

• Josh Cohen opened the game’s scoring by knocking down a pair of free throws at 18:49. 
• Rahsool Diggins made the first field goal for the Minutemen by hitting a jumper late in the shot clock to put UMass up 4-3 at 17:07. 
• After starting the game 0-3 from the field, UMass made their next four, capped by a Jayden Ndjigue turnaround jumper at 14:17. 
• Diggins scored his second basket of the game to stop a 6-0 La Salle Run at 11:45.  
• Coming out of a media timeout, Jaylen Curry recorded a steal and went the full length of the court for a layup to put UMass up 15-13. 
• Curry continued to be a spark for the Minutemen, finding Daniel Hankins-Sanford for a bucket and hitting a shot of his own from the top of the key. 
• Josh Cohen hit the first three pointer for UMass to take a five-point lead into the under eight-minute media timeout. 
• UMass went into the locker room up 32-31, led by Hankins-Sanford’s eight points and five rebounds off the bench.  
• Coming out of the break, Cohen converted a three-point play as UMass led La Salle 35-33. 
• After La Salle tied the game at 37-37, Cohen finished through contact to give UMass back the lead at 17:56. 
• Curry continued to bring the energy off the bench by scoring back-to-back buckets to put UMass up 45-39 at the first media timeout of the second half. 
• UMass held La Salle to zero field goals for 3:13 while going on a 12-2 run to take a 47-39 lead.  
• After a Diggins three and a Cohen jumper, UMass forced a La Salle timeout at 8:43. 
• Hankins-Sanford knocked down a pair of free throws at 8:10 to give UMass its first double digit lead of the game and earning his first career double-double.  
• Keon Thompson hit his first three of the game at the 6:10 mark to give the Minutemen a 64-52 advantage. 
• Curry scored on back-to-back driving layups to put UMass ahead 78-62 with 1:48 remaining in the game. 
• Diggins added another three with under a minute to play to secure an 81-65 victory. 

New Kids On The Block 

• Josh Cohen led UMass with a game-high 24 points on 9-19 shooting. 
• Daniel Hankins-Sanford recorded his first career double-double with ten points and a career best 13 rebounds. 
• Jaylen Curry went an efficient 6-7 with 12 points and four assists in 22 minutes. 

Numbers To Know 

• 2: Minutemen recorded double-doubles as Josh Cohen finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Daniel Hankins-Sanford added ten points and 13 rebounds. It’s the first time two Minutemen have had double-doubles in the same game since Preston Santos and Samba Diallo versus Duquesne on Jan. 25, 2020.6:
• Jaylen Curry’s six field goals were the most he’s made in a game this season while having his best shooting percentage in a game (.857). 
• 13: UMass finished with a +13 advantage on the glass (44-31), their second highest rebounding differential this season. 
• 42: The Minutemen finished with 42 points in the paint in comparison to La Salle’s 26. 

Year Two Under Coach Martin 

• Massachusetts Head Coach, Frank Martin now holds a 26-20 record leading the Minutemen. 
• Martin now sits with a 314-221 collegiate career record. 

Series History  

• UMass now has a 30-21 record all-time versus the Explorers, winning the 51st matchup between the two programs. 

Up Next 

• Massachusetts travels for a regional matchup with A-10 foe Rhode Island on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. in Kingston, RI. The broadcast can be found live on ESPN+ with links and live updates available at umassathletics.com or @UMassMBB on X (Twitter).