Sophomore G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) scored 19 points - including the 1,000th point of his career - to lead No. 4 UMass Lowell over No. 5 Southern Connecticut State, 86-68, Sunday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the win, UMass Lowell improved to 18-9 overall and visits No. 1 Franklin Pierce, a 55-50 winner over No. 9 Assumption, Wednesday night at 7:00.

The loss halted a four-game winning streak for Southern Connecticut, which caps the season with a 14-13 clip.

"We took the first step today and beat a very good Southern Connecticut team," said head coach Greg Herenda. "I am just so very happy with everyone that wore a River Hawk jersey today."

In other quarterfinal games, No. 2 Adelphi defeated No. 10 New Haven, 54-51, while No. 3 Stonehill defeated No. 6 Merrimack, 85-66.

Williams converted 7 of 13 field goal attempts and all four free throws and also dished three assists. He reached the milestone with 12:21 left in the game when sank a pair of free throws to give the River Hawks a 64-41 lead.

Williams is the 36th player in University history to reach 1,000 points.

"It was a great day for Akeem to net his 1,000th point," Herenda added. "To score that many points inless than two years is an amazing feat."

Senior G Robbie Walton (South Boston, Mass.) added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists while shooting 7-9 from the field while sophomore F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) came off the bench to score 16 points and grab seven rebounds on 6-10 field goal shooting in 21 minutes.

Junior F Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) chipped in 15 points and five rebounds.

Freshman G Tylon Smith led Southern Connecticut with a career-high 25 points - including 21 in the first half on 10-11 field goal shooting - and four assists.

Freshman G Luke Houston added 12 points while sophomore G Dominique Langston also chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

UMass Lowell forced the Owls into 21 turnovers while committing only 15, leading to a 26-15 scoring advantage on points off turnovers. The River Hawks also enjoyed advantages from 3-point range (21-9) and second chances (19-12), the result of a 14-11 edge on offensive rebounds.

The River Hawks shot .493 from the field (35-71), including .500 in the first half (17-34) and .486 in the second (18-37). Southern Connecticut shot .400 for the game (24-60) - .448 in the first half (13-29), but struggling to a .355 clip in the second (11-31).

UMass Lowell led 28-24 with 5:43 left in the first half, and closed with a 17-5 run to post a 45-29 cushion at the break. Bivins led the spurt with seven points.

The run continued in the second half as UMass Lowell opened with a 9-2 spurt, led by five points from Welch, to post a 54-31 lead just over two minutes into the half.

UMass Lowell led by as many as 28 points (79-51) with 5:58 left to play.