Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. (December 18, 2013) – The UMass Lowell men's basketball team began conference play with a 62-48 loss in their first ever meeting against Vermont Wednesday night at Costello Athletic Center.
 
Ultimately the Catamounts defense picked up in the second half and disrupted the offensive flow that saw the River Hawks take a 33-27 lead into the half. The loss drops UMass Lowell to 1-10 overall and 0-1 in the America East while Vermont improves to 4-7 overall, with a 1-0 mark in the conference.
 
"We just came back from a long road trip in New York where we didn't play our best basketball so I was glad to see us come back and play that well against what's one of the better teams in the America East," said Head Coach Pat Duquette.
 
The Catamounts held the River Hawks to a second half shooting percentage of 19% after shooting a scorching 54.2% from the field in the first half.
 
Senior guard Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass) had a team high 16 points (5-12 FG, 1-4 3PT) while grabbing four rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes. Williams got hot early scoring the first six points for the River Hawks before assisting Mark Cornelius (Westford, Mass) and Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) each for 3-pointers giving the team their biggest lead at 12-4.
 
Wiliams went on to score 11 of his 16 points in the first half.
 
Vermont responded with a 10-2 run of their own following the three by Livingston to take the lead at 14-12. The Catamounts were led by an efficient night from Clancy Rugg (4-7 FG) who totaled a game high 19 points and eight rebounds. Rugg used his size advantage in the paint to draw fouls as he made it to the line 13 times, making 11 of those attempts.
 
Cornelius continues to string together good performances following up a seven point, three rebound, three assist outing against Columbia with an eight point, three rebound, two assist outing in 23 minutes tonight against the Catamounts.
 
The River Hawks who came into Wednesday night's action second in the conference in opponent 3-point percentage held the Catamounts scoreless from downtown as Vermont went 0-3.
 
Coming into the action second in the conference in blocks shots per game and also off of a career performance against Columbia, senior center Parris Massey (Boston, Mass) blocked two more shots and chipped in on the glass with four rebounds.
 
"He gives us a fresh body, a little more depth and there's a guy whose come a long way. I'm happy for him, he came here as a walk on, he didn't expect anything and he worked hard and I think he's earned the respect of his teammates and he's earned the opportunity to play and he's given us a huge lift," said Duquette
 
Junior guard Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) also chipped in with double figure scoring dropping in 11 points while connecting on three 3-pointers.
 
The River Hawks have a quick turnaround as they host Duquesne in their first division I home game at the Tsongas Center Saturday at 2 P.M.