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LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Mark Cornelius (Westford, Mass.) notched a career-high 18 points for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (7-12, 3-3 AE) in a 78-76 heartbreaker against America East Conference opponent New Hampshire (10-8, 3-2 AE) on Thursday evening at the Tsongas Center.
 
Although the River Hawks led for over 33 minutes in the contest, the Wildcats used a 19-2 run late in the second half and a three-pointer by Daniel Dion at the buzzer to earn the come-from-behind decision.
 
"Both teams competed really hard tonight and played good basketball," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It was a good environment and I thought it was a good crowd. UNH is a very good team and (Daniel Dion) hit an unbelievable shot to win the game. We played as well defensively as we've played all year. I couldn't be happier with the way our guys fought, and if we play defensively the way we did tonight, we're going to have a good amount of success the rest of the year."
 
Cornelius recorded a personal-best seven field goals on the night to lead four double-digit scorers for UMass Lowell. Junior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) added 15 points, while redshirt sophomore Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) and freshman Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio) logged 13 and 11 points, respectively. Thomas tallied a team-high six rebounds, as well.
 
The River Hawks won the tip and jumped out to a quick, 4-0 lead with the help of a pair of buckets from Thomas. Cornelius knocked down a three and freshman Logan Primerano (Peru, Ind.) added a pull-up jumper to help the home squad lead by as many as six, but New Hampshire worked to erase the difference and tie the game for the first time at 9-9 with 13:51 remaining in the first half.
 
The score was knotted once more before UMass Lowell used an 8-2 run that was capped off by a fast-break dunk from redshirt freshman Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) to create a 20-14 buffer at 11:43. The Wildcats retaliated, though, scoring eight of the next 10 points to cause another stalemate, this time at 22-22, with 7:36 to play in the first.
 
UMass Lowell regained the upper hand when Cornelius scored back-to-back buckets and dished a good pass to Livingston, who fired a long ball from beyond the arc to put the home team ahead, 28-22, at 6:55. UNH would make it a one-possession game with less than five minutes to go, but the River Hawks sped up the pace of play and outscored the visitors, 10-4, in the waning minutes of the half to take a 43-33 advantage into the break.
 
Thomas opened the scoring in the second half with his first three of the season. The teams traded baskets over the next nine minutes, as the River Hawks maintained at least a nine-point margin until Livingston was fouled on his way to the hoop and converted on his free throw for the three-point play, giving UMass Lowell its largest lead of the contest at 65-51 with 9:24 to go.
 
New Hampshire took control of the momentum and battled back with 14 consecutive points, making the score even, 65-65, at 5:05. Jaleen Smith then hit a three to put the Wildcats ahead for the first time of the night at 70-67. After three more lead changes, Livingston tipped in a basket to make the score 76-75 in favor of the home team. Dion's game winner followed on an inbound play with just a second on clock to steal the decision.
 
Thursday's contest marked the fifth meeting between UMass Lowell and New Hampshire in the sport of men's basketball. The Wildcats now own a 4-1 lead in the all-time series. The River Hawks return to action on Sunday, January 24 when they host Binghamton in the second game of a doubleheader with the UMass Lowell women's team at the Tsongas Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.