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LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio) paced four double-digit scorers with 20 points to lead the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-1) to an 87-76 victory against Wagner (1-1) in the squad's home opener on Monday evening.
 
"Great to get a win in our first home game," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I was really encouraged to see the students come out tonight. Everyone likes playing in front of their schoolmates. It was a really good win for our program. Wagner is a very good team that just knocked off UConn and won 23 games last year. Overall, I thought a lot of guys contributed and we had a very balanced attack."
 
White set a career high in the outing, going 10-for-10 from the foul line. Also finding success at the line was junior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.), who went a personal-best 13-for-13 on free throws en route to 18 total points. Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) and senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 17 and 12 points, respectively. As a whole, the River Hawks shot 51.1 percent (23-45) from the field, including 50 percent (9-18) from long range.
 
The teams were tied twice in the opening minutes before sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and White both drained buckets from the floor to give the River Hawks their first lead at 8-7 with 16:07 remaining in the first half. Following three minutes of scoreless action, the home squad continued what would be a 9-0 spurt to pull ahead by six, as freshman Rinardo Perry (Washington, D.C.) completed a three-point play and Harris converted on a pair of free throws.
 
The Seahawks cut the difference back to just a bucket on three occasions in the next two minutes, but the River Hawks regained the momentum with 11 unanswered points, including big threes from Harris and White, to pull away 29-15 with 6:02 left to play in the first.  
 
The aggressive, back-and-forth battle continued through the waning minutes of the half, and although Wagner closed the gap to within eight, Thomas beat the buzzer with a jumper from beyond the arc, sending the home team into the break with a 37-26 advantage.
 
Coming out of halftime, Jones added another long ball for UMass Lowell before teammates Thomas and White hit back-to-back jumpers to give the squad its largest lead at 47-31 with 15:39 to go in the contest. The Seahawks fought their way back once again, though, this time using a 15-4 run to make the score 51-46 at 11:33.
 
The River Hawks were able to maintain at least a two-possession lead until Wagner scored five in a row in the final two minutes, cutting the margin to seven, 75-68. However, UMass Lowell was perfect from the line down the stretch to help seal 87-76 victory.
 
Wagner also boasted four scorers in double figures, led by Corey Henson with 19. Michael Carey logged a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Monday's contest marked just the second meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Wagner in the sport of men's basketball. The all-time series is now tied, 1-1. The River Hawks will now hit the road tomorrow to take part in the Indiana Classic, a four-game, multi-location tournament.