Josh Cohen wasn’t going to have two bad games in a row in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. That was never in the plans.
The UMass men’s basketball graduate transfer forward responded to his second-lowest scoring total this season (10 points) he put up on Thursday night against Georgia Tech with a season-high 28 points on a perfect 9-f0r-9 shooting from both the field and the free throw line to lead the Minutemen to a bounce-back 100-78 win over Portland late Friday night – or early Saturday morning, rather.
Cohen added five rebounds, three assists, and one block in 29 minutes of action.
After shooting an abysmal 8-for-19 from the charity stripe a game ago, UMass responded with its best showing from the line all year. The Minutemen converted 21 of their 23 attempts, shooting 91.3 percent.
Matt Cross and Cohen dominated the paint in the win, translating to the high volume of free throws. Cross put up 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and three steals, and UMass outscored the Pilots 48-32 down low – nearly half of the Minutemen’s points coming from the key.
Guards Keon Thompson and Jayden Ndjigue each netted 13 points apiece to round out UMass’ double-digit scoring, with Thompson dishing out six assists and no turnovers while grabbing four boards, and Ndjigue adding five rebounds and a steal. Rahsool Diggins chipped in nine points and four assists as the Minutemen shot 59.3 percent from the field.
UMass had huge advantages in rebounds (33-26), assists (21-14), steals (10-4), and fast-break points (20-8) to help improve its record to 3-0 this season after losses. The Minutemen have been stellar responding to defeats this season, averaging a margin of victory of 22 points per game in those three games.
UMass (7-3) plays again on Sunday, taking on Old Dominion at 3:30. Winner takes home fifth place in the Diamond Head Classic.
