Box Score
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DURHAM, N.H. – Despite trailing by just one in the final seconds of play, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (9-10, 3-3) fell, 67-64, in an overtime thriller at the University of New Hampshire (10-9, 3-3) on Monday afternoon.
 
The decision marks the River Hawks' second straight overtime loss. Redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) posted his first career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to pace his team.
 
"This was an exciting basketball game with two good teams going at it," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I'm proud of my guys. Obviously, we would have liked a different outcome, but we did what we wanted to defensively. We gave ourselves a chance to win on the road against a really good team. This is a better UNH team than they were last year. Not only do they play good defense, but they can score the basketball."
 
The home team scored six unanswered points in the final minute of regulation to take the lead, but Thomas banked in a last-second layup to force overtime. UNH would go on to tally the first four points in the extra period, and although UMass Lowell worked to close the gap to one at 65-64 with 17 seconds left, Jaleen Smith went 2-for-2 at the line to secure the overtime decision.
 
Graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) and freshman Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) rounded out the double-digit scorers for UMass Lowell with 11 points apiece. Banegas-Flores added three steals in the contest, while Harris chipped in with three assists.
 
The Wildcats scored the first seven points of the day before Thomas put the River Hawks on the board with a hard layup at 15:28. New Hampshire maintained at least a five-point margin for the next four minutes until Banegas-Flores scored down low and freshman Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) hit a three from the wing, making the score 10-9 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Thomas converted on a pair of free throws to give the River Hawks their first lead of the contest at 11-10, and after two quick lead changes, freshman Brad Schaub (Marlette, Mich.) sparked an 11-4 spurt, rattling off seven points on his own and putting the visitors ahead, 24-18, with 4:53 left to play in the first. UMass Lowell held on to take a 28-25 advantage into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, UNH pulled within one twice more before Harris knocked down a three-pointer and Thomas logged back-to-back jumpers to give UMass Lowell a 39-31 buffer with over 14 minutes to go. The Wildcats continued to battle, though, putting together a 16-3 run to take the upper hand, 47-42, at 9:03.
 
After five and a half minutes without a field goal, the River Hawks broke the silence with six straight points, for the first of three final lead changes in regulation.      
 
UMass Lowell and UNH both shot 41.1% (23-56) from the floor in the matchup, while the River Hawks controlled the long ball, shooting 47.4% (9-19). Smith Tanner Leissner led the Wildcats with 17 and 18 points, respectively.
 
Monday's contest marked the third meeting between UMass Lowell and UNH in the sport of men's basketball. The Wildcats now lead the all-time series, 2-1. The River Hawks return home to host Stony Brook in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday, January 22 beginning at 5:30 p.m.