Josh Cohen stepped to the line with his UMass men’s basketball team tied against Loyola Chicago on Wednesday night. The Minutemen were trying to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season, and despite free throws being the weakest link in Cohen’s offensive game, the senior calmly sank both to give UMass a 77-75 lead.

The Minutemen then surrendered the front end of two free throws to the Ramblers’ Philip Alston on the other end, and Daniel Hankins-Sanford pulled down the miss and got fouled. The sophomore buried the first of two shots at the line himself, giving UMass the lead, 78-76, with nine seconds left. Hankins-Sanford missed the second however, and Des Watson rebounded the ball and pushed it up the court.

Just as he crossed half court, he passed it off to Alston, who put his head down and attacked Hankins-Sanford and his four fouls. He missed the first attempt, tipped the second shot to himself, and the third time was the charm – as he swished home the two-footer through contact to tie the game and go to the line with a chance to win.

Although Alston struggled at the line the majority of the game, he sank it when it mattered most to give Loyola Chicago a 79-78 lead on its home floor. Jaylen Curry’s last-second heave sailed over everything as UMass dropped its second straight game for the first time all year on the road in Chicago.

“That's awful. We can't get matched up, we don't have the courage to fight for a rebound with the game on the line, that's embarrassing,” UMass head coach Frank Martin said postgame. “That's awful. Missed free throws again. You can't miss free throws and win on the road. We had the game won and can't get matched up on a missed free throw opportunity.”

The Minutemen went the final 3 minutes, 29 seconds of game time without making a field goal.

Cohen had a game-high 28 points and added nine boards, Curry continued his stellar stretch of play off the bench with 18 points, and Jayden Ndjigue chipped in eight points and six rebounds before fouling out late in the game. The Minutemen were without Matt Cross once again, who missed a second game in a row with an ankle injury.

“He's starting to grow up,” Martin said of Curry. “He's a really good player, just has to figure out college basketball and understand the things he can and can't do out there.”

UMass tightened up its defense in the second half after giving up 43 points in the first 20 minutes to help give itself a chance to win the ball game. But a miscue on the game’s final possession, and the inability to grab a rebound – something the Minutemen have been so good at all season – cost them an important road victory.

UMass (11-6, 2-3) hosts George Washington at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon at noon.

Minutewomen fall at home, drop fourth straight

For the fourth consecutive game, the UMass women’s basketball team had a lead in the second half and lost. The Minutewomen outscored Loyola Chicago 23-18 in the second quarter to take a 35-33 lead into the break.

That’s when things went south.

The Ramblers rattled off a 14-0 run spanning from the 7:04 mark of the third quarter to the 1:33 mark. A scoreless stretch for nearly six minutes is awfully hard to overcome, especially in the Atlantic 10, and UMass was unable to dig itself out of that hole. 

The Minutewomen fell 79-66 to Loyola Chicago at the Mullins Center on Wednesday night.

Stefanie Kulesza’s 17 points led UMass as one of four players to score 10-plus points in the loss, which was its sixth in the last seven games. Kulesza added six rebounds, three assists, and a game-high eight steals. Kristin Williams put up 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Lilly Taulelei (10 points, three boards) and Alexsia Rose (10 points, seven dimes) combined for 20 points.

Alyssa Fisher and Sam Galanopoulos came in to Wednesday’s contest as the Ramblers’ two leading scorers, and they showed why they are two of the top offensive threats in the A-10. Fisher netted 17 points, scoring from all three levels while knocking down two 3s, and Galanopoulos poured in a game-high 22 points on an efficient 9-for-13 (2-for-2 from 3 and the free throw line each) and grabbed seven rebounds.

UMass shot 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3, while Loyola Chicago’s splits were 58 and 57, respectively. Aside from a massive disadvantage in fastbreak points (23-9 in favor of the Ramblers), the Minutewomen played Loyola Chicago evenly in nearly every category. It just came down to the poor shooting. 

Up next for UMass (3-15, 1-5) is another home game, this time on Sunday against George Mason (4 p.m.), which currently sits at 13-3 overall (4-1, A-10). The Minutewomen have played hard over the past several weeks, but wins have been hard to come by. It’ll take a huge upset for UMass to snap its losing streak on Sunday.