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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) posted a team-high 17 points for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team in a 70-47 loss at Boston College (7-4) of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday afternoon in Chestnut Hill.
 
The River Hawks, who are in the midst of a four-game skid, move to 6-6 overall on the season with the decision.
 
"We got off to a tough start and dug a big hole," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "But then I thought we played some of our best basketball this season for a period of 12 to 16 minutes in the first half, which is why we were able to get back in the game. We didn't come out strong in the second half and fell behind again, which we can't afford to do against a team like Boston College. We know how much bigger they are than us, so we needed to be that much more efficient in every other area of the basketball game, and we just didn't do that today."
 
Senior Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) and junior DJ Mlachnik (Muskego, Wis.) added nine points apiece in the outing, while freshman Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) paced the River Hawks on the glass with a personal-best 10 rebounds.
 
Thomas scored the first six points of the day for UMass Lowell, but the Eagles were quick to jump out to a double-digit margin, and led, 19-6, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Holley and Mlachnik followed with back-to-back threes from the wing to make it a two-possession game at 10:17, although BC would take advantage of a pair of River Hawk shot clock violations to extend the margin to 22-12.
 
The visitors continued to battle, as Crawford used a pair of buckets to spark a 10-2 run, cutting the difference to just 24-22 with three minutes to go in the half. The Eagles, who did not hit a field goal in the last 10 minutes of the period, did however convert on five free throws to take a 29-22 edge into the break.
 
Boston College registered 10 of the first 12 points in the second half, pulling ahead 39-24 at 17:19. Crawford drove to the hoop for UMass Lowell and Thomas followed with a field goal of his own, but the Eagles worked to extend the buffer to 48-28 with less than 13 minutes to go.
 
Holley knocked down a pair of threes and freshman Brad Schaub (Marlette, Mich.) added a layup for the River Hawks, as UMass Lowell took a slight scoring edge in the next six minutes, although the home squad still led, 57-38, at 7:06. The River Hawks pulled within as few as 17 points on two occasions before BC went on to seal the 70-47 decision.  
 
Aaron Brown led three double-digit scorers with a game-high 22 points for the Eagles. Dennis Clifford and Olivier Hanlan posted 19 and 10 points, respectively, as well. As a whole, Boston College shot 55.6% (25-45) from the field, including 58.3% (7-12) from three-point territory.
 
Monday's contest marked just the second meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Boston College in the sport of men's basketball. The Eagles 1-0. The River Hawks will return home to host Binghamton University in the team's America East Conference opener on Friday, January 2. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.