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The UMass Lowell men's basketball inaugural season in Division I ended in almost picture perfect fashion on senior night as the River Hawks beat Maine, scoring a season-high in points en route to a 84-72 victory. The senior careers were celebrated prior to the tip and as every senior dreams, with a standing ovation as they were subbed out in the final minute with the game in hand.

UMass Lowell concluded their first transition season in Division I with a 10-18 mark and an 8-8 record in the America East. Maine drops to 5-22 and 3-12 in the America East with their season finale against New Hampshire upcoming.

"It was a great night, for everybody, for our seniors, for our university, to conclude our first season with an 8-8 record in the America East and send these seniors off on a real positive note," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Just a really exciting night for everybody involved."

Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) made the most of his final appearance in front of the River Hawk faithful, recording his second double-double of the year with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Bivins scored 14 in the first half and brought the crowd of 646 to its feet with an emphatic dunk on Maine's Kilian Cato with a minute and a half left in the game.

It was a game of runs as the teams were tied or exchanged the lead five times in the first half. The Black Bears went on a 15-7 run over the final six minutes of the first half to take a 38-35 lead at the break. UMass Lowell came out the gates in the second half with a different energy level and started the second half on a 17-4 run to go ahead 52-42.

There was just one lead change in the second half as UMass Lowell maintained their lead throughout the rest of the game despite the Black Bears efforts which cut their deficit to as little as two points with over nine minutes to play.

Senior Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.), the America East's leading scorer and third highest in River Hawks history, was held scoreless in the first half before finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Williams finishes his career with 2,057 points.

The two other seniors, Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.) and Parris Massey (Boston, Mass.) each converted their two shot attempts. Weldon added a career-high five assists to go with a season-high four blocks while Massey ripped down three rebounds.

"Part of the reason why they were so effective here in the second half of the season was because they treated every game like it was their last, especially tonight," said Duquette.

Sophomore DJ Mlachnik also scored a career-high 19 points, scoring 11 in the first half.

The River Hawks shot 53.8% from the field and had one of their better nights getting to the charity stripe where they made 20 of their 29 free throw attempts. Maine managed just 10 free throw attempts, making six.