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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) notched a team-best 16 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-2) dropped a 100-78 decision at No. 6/5 Indiana (2-0) to open the 2016 Indiana Classic on Wednesday evening.
 
"It's not always easy to be happy with a 22-point loss, but I thought there were a lot more good things we did tonight than bad," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It was an incredible environment against a top-five team in the country. Our guys played really well. I thought they made a lot of good and unselfish plays on offense, and we battled on defense, but we got killed on the boards. Overall, there were a lot of good things to take away from this. It was a great experience for us."
 
Thomas made 5-of-12 from the floor and was a perfect, 6-for-6 from the foul line in the outing. Senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) logged 14 points, and a team-high five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio) added to the offensive effort with 13 points.
 
UMass Lowell and Indiana traded baskets in the opening minutes with five lead changes before White hit a jumper to spark a 9-2 run that gave his squad a 14-9 edge at 15:09 in the first half. Indiana rallied back, though, knotting the score twice before pulling in front, 18-16, with 10:34 remaining in the first half.
 
Freshman Cameron Wolter (Fishers, Ind.) would bank in a layup to force the fourth tie of the night, but the Hoosiers followed with a 13-2 spurt to take a 31-20 lead at 6:42. The River Hawks then used a layup from Livingston and a three from White to make it a seven-point game, although Indiana outscored the visitors 18-8 in the waning minutes of the first to pull away, 53-36, heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks tallied seven of the first 10 points, including a long ball from sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) to close the gap to 56-43. UMass Lowell trailed by 13 once more thanks to a tip-in from Livingston before the Hoosiers took advantage of five scoreless minutes from their opponents, firing off 15 unanswered points to extend their margin to 76-47 with 12:51 still to play.
 
The River Hawks would not go quietly, putting together a 10-2 stretch with the help of back-to-back buckets from Thomas and a big dunk from sophomore Logan Primerano (Peru, Ind.), making it a 78-57 game at 8:28. UMass Lowell was unable to come any closer, however, as Indiana took a slight, 22-21 scoring edge the rest of the way to secure the 100-78 decision.
 
James Blackmon, Jr. posted a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds to lead a Hoosiers team that shot 56.3 percent from the floor. Robert Johnson added 16 points, while OG Anunoby totaled 15.
 
Wednesday's contest marked the first ever meeting between UMass Lowell and Indiana in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks will play their second of four games in the Indiana Classic on Saturday, November 19 when they visit Fort Wayne for a 7 p.m. tilt.