Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF)

The UMass Lowell River Hawks picked up their second conference win of the season by defeating Binghamton University, 65-54, in an America East tilt Thursday evening at the Events Center.

UMass Lowell improves its overall record to 3-17 while enhancing its conference record to 2-7.  The loss drops Binghamton's record to 4-17 overall and 1-7 in the America East.

Junior G Shannon Samuels (Windsor, Conn.) led the River Hawks in scoring for the second straight game, scoring 22 points after swishing five three-pointers.  Samuels also added five assists, five steals and four rebounds to her stat sheet.

UMass Lowell opened the game with a three from Samuels off a pass from sophomore F Lindsey Doucette (Hopkington, Mass.).  The lead went back and forth throughout the first half but the River Hawks were able to keep enough distance between the Bearcats and headed off the court at the break with a 28-25 advantage.

The second half had its share of moments as the Binghamton fought back to regain its momentum, beginning with a 6-0 run to start the half that gave the host team a 31-28 lead. 

The River Hawks went ahead 38-37 after a made jumper from Doucette on a pass from freshman G Priscilla Dunphy (Barrington, R.I.) at 9:09 before Binghamton tied the game less than a minute later with a free throw from Kristin Ross.

Lowell took the lead once again on a long three from freshman G Nicole Hayner (Bedford, N.H.) at 7:55.  But the lead did not hold for long as Binghamton used a 6-0 spurt to jump ahead, 41-44.

The final five minutes proved to be crucial as both teams fought for an edge.  Lowell went ahead 48-46 on a jumper from Samuels at 4:46 before Binghamton's Morgan Murphy drained a bucket 16 seconds later to tie the game at 48-all.

The final go-ahead basket came just under a minute later when Samuels cut through the paint for layup at 3:42 to put the River Hawks up, 50-48.  Murphy scored Binghamton's final basket at on a layup at 1:07.  UMass Lowell junior G Jasmine McRoy (Gaithursberg, Md.) combined to go 4-for-4 at the line while Samuels added a pair of free throws in between to close out the game on a 6-0 run for the River Hawks.

UMass Lowell finished the game shooting 24-of-61 (.393) from field goal range, including 8-of-21 behind the arc.  The River Hawks converted 9-of-13 from the charity stripe.  Binghamton shot 22-of-67 (.328) from the floor with zero made shots from long range.  The Bearcats were 10-of-14 at the line and out-rebounded the River Hawks, 47-38.

McRoy finished with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Doucette added 19 points, four assists and five rebounds in the win for the River Hawks.

Murphy led the Bearcats with a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds off the glass.

UMass Lowell will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the University at Albany at 7 p.m.