Box Score
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LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) posted a team-best 15 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (12-16, 6-9) dropped a 76-60 decision against the University of New Hampshire (17-10, 10-4) on Senior Day at the Tsongas Center.
 
"I wish the results for Senior Day could have been better," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "The game just got away from us in the first half. UNH is a very good team. They do a lot of things well, they share the ball, they're strong and they have an inside game. They shot well in the first half, and I think if we were going to stay in the game, we needed to shoot the ball and hold them to a lower percentage. It forced us to make some adjustments at halftime, and to their credit, they pounded the ball inside in the second half and wore us down that way. I don't think we played our best game, but that's a good team and they earned the win."
 
Holley was one of three double-digit scorers for the River Hawks, as freshmen Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) and Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) logged 11 and 10 points, respectively. Redshirt-senior Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Brad Schaub (Marlette, Mich.) paced the team on the boards with five rebounds apiece.
 
The Wildcats jumped out in front early, scoring the first seven points of the afternoon. Weldon came up with a big steal allowing Crawford to drain a three on the other end of the court and get UMass Lowell on the board with 17:12 remaining in the first half.
 
Schaub added a long ball of his own, but UNH followed with a 7-1 spurt to pull ahead, 19-8, at 12:16. The home squad answered with four straight points from Harris and a pair of free throws from graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) to cut the difference to 19-14 with less than nine minutes to play in the period.
 
UMass Lowell pulled within five twice more before the Wildcats hit 10 unanswered points, taking a 34-19 advantage at 3:07. Harris and Crawford combined for the last seven points of the half for the River Hawks, although the visitors would take a 36-26 edge into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, UNH notched the first two buckets, but Holley retaliated with back-to-back jumpers from beyond the arc to make the score 40-32. The Wildcats regained a double-digit margin, though, and used a 15-5 run to lead 55-37 with just over 12 minutes left to play.
 
After New Hampshire pulled away by as many as 22, Weldon helped himself with another steal and a dunk. Schaub followed with a three-point field goal before Banegas-Flores converted on one free throw and floated the ball in on the next possession, making the score 62-49 at 5:48.
 
The teams traded baskets in the waning minutes with Holley scoring the final eight points for the River Hawks before the visitors secured the 76-60 decision.
 
Jacoby Armstrong and Tanner Leissner led the Wildcats with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Leissner added nine rebounds to finish just shy of a double-double. As a team, UNH shot 58.5% (31-53) from the floor, including 50.0% (9-18) from three-point territory.
 
Saturday's contest marked just the fourth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and New Hampshire. The Wildcats now lead the all-time series 3-1.  The River Hawks will play their 20-14-15 season finale on Wednesday, February 25 at Stony Brook. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 7 p.m.