Box Score
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LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) logged a team-best 20 points and graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) posted a career-high 19 points to help the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (6-2) hold off NJIT (2-5) in a 71-67 victory on Wednesday evening.

"We're really happy," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We're just continuing to play, and we're doing all the things that are important to us, particularly on the defensive end. I don't think we played perfect tonight. We were in a unique situation, being up by almost 20 points, and we've never been in that situation before. We need to play a little better with a lead because we did some things that were out of character, but in the end, we played well down the stretch, gathered our composure, handled their run and pulled out our sixth win."

With the decision, the River Hawks have won six in a row, marking the program's longest win streak since the 2011-12 season. Redshirt-senior Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.) led both teams on the boards with a season-high 12 rebounds.

Banegas-Flores scored the first bucket in the outing, but NJIT would lead in the early minutes until he struck again with a three just before the shot clock expired, giving UMass Lowell its first lead at 10-9 with just over 14 minutes remaining in the half. Following a 12-12 tie, sophomore Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) hit his first three of the night to spark a 10-2 spurt and help the River Hawks pull away, 22-14, at 7:22.

The Highlanders would battle back in the waning minutes of the period to make it a one-possession game at 25-22 thanks to a long ball from Damon Lynn, although the home squad would post 10 unanswered points, including four from Thomas, to take a 35-22 edge into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Banages-Flores drained a jumper from beyond the arc to tie his career high at 17. NJIT would not go quietly, however, as Winfield Willis ended five scoreless minutes for the Highlanders with a three-point play and a 22-6 run helped the team cut the difference to as few as three at 51-48 with just over nine minutes left in the contest.

Free throws from Weldon and Thomas, and a three from the wing by freshman Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) gave the River Hawks some breathing room at 56-48. The Highlanders would manage to make it a two-point game with less than three minutes to go, but UMass Lowell hung on with the help of another three from Crawford, a hard layup by senior Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) and a bucket by Thomas, securing the 71-67 decision

Banegas-Flores set a personal-best with five three-pointers in the outing, as UMass Lowell shot 52.6% (10-19) from three-point range. The team was 44.0% (22-50) from the floor overall, and 70.8% (17-24) from the charity stripe.
 
The Highlanders' Lynn led all scorers with 24 points, while Tim Coleman and Willis added 11 points each. As a whole, NJIT shot 39.0% (23-59) from the field, 30.8% (8-26) from three-point territory and 61.9% (13-21) from the line.

Wednesday's contest marked the fifth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and NJIT in the sport of men's basketball. UMass Lowell now leads the all-time series, 3-2. The River Hawks will return to action on Saturday, December 6 when they visit Cornell University of the Ivy League for a 4:30 p.m. tilt.