Box Score
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team (7-6) mounted a second half comeback to earn a 50-40 victory against Binghamton University (1-15) and snap a four-game skid in its 2014-15 America East Conference opener on Friday evening.
 
Redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) posted game highs with 15 points and eight rebounds to pace the River Hawks' offense. Senior Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) added nine points apiece.
 
"No discredit to Binghamton at all, but I just don't think we played particularly well tonight," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We picked up the win, which is better than a loss for sure, but there wasn't a lot of rhythm to the game on either side. We turned the ball over far too many times and we know that we need to play way more efficient. I think the silver lining is that we did play really good defense. We held them to 40 points tonight, which kept us in the game, but we know that we're a better basketball team than that. If we're going to be as successful as we want to be, we need to take care of the basketball and shoot a higher percentage. We're looking forward to getting back into that rhythm as a team."
 
After UMass Lowell trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, Crawford tied the score at 31-31 with less than 11 minutes left in the second on a long ball from the corner. UMass Lowell would then take its first lead of the night at 38-31 thanks to seven-straight points from Holley. The Bearcats scored five in a row to cut the difference back to just two, but Thomas drained a jumper on his way to the ground to give the River Hawks a 40-36 lead with less than five minutes to go.
 
The home team would not look back, as a three from junior DJ Mlachnik (Muskego, Wis.) sparked an eight-point spurt in the final minutes of the contest, helping the River Hawks hold onto the lead.
 
The offense for both sides was quiet in the early part of the first half, but Binghamton jumped out to a 10-0 advantage. The River Hawks, who were scoreless in the first eight minutes, got on the board with back-to-back layups by Thomas. Graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) floated in a fast-break layup and Crawford added a long field goal to make it a two-possession game at 12-8 with 7:46 left in the period.
 
The teams traded baskets, with the Bearcats maintaining at least a four-point margin, until freshman Brad Schaub (Marlette, Mich.) hit two consecutive three-pointers to knot the score at 20-20 with less than two minutes remaining. Dusan Perovic hit the final shot of the half, however, giving the visitors a slight, 23-20 edge at the break.
 
Romello Walker led the Bearcats with 14 points, while Karon Waller logged a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Friday's contest marked the eighth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Binghamton in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks now lead the all-time series, 7-1. UMass Lowell is slated to play its final non-conference game of the season against Brown on Monday, January 5 beginning at 7 p.m.