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LOWELL, Mass. – Despite mounting a valiant, second-half comeback and taking the lead inside of three minutes left to play, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (2-7) came up just short in a 75-74 loss to NJIT (5-4) on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center.
 
"It was an exciting college basketball game today," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I'm disappointed with the outcome, but a little more disappointed with our effort in the first half. It was very uncharacteristic of us. I'm proud of the way we came out and played in the second half. That's definitely the UMass Lowell team that I know and that I love working with every day. We played hard, we played together and we played good basketball in the second. Obviously, it's really tough to lose this way, a tough game in your own gym."
 
Junior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) logged a team-high 17 points in the decision, going 5-for-5 from the foul line. Sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) added 16 and 14 points, respectively. Thomas chipped in with a team-best six rebounds, as well.
 
The River Hawks got on the board first courtesy of a layup from Thomas, and built an early, 7-3 edge in the opening minutes with the help of a deep three from Jones. NJIT quickly answered, though, with 12 straight points to pull in front, 15-7, with 12:20 remaining in the first half.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) converted on a pair of free throws, but the UMass Lowell offense struggled to get out of single digits, as the Highlanders led 19-9 at 7:40 in the first. The home squad used a trio of makes from the foul line, including two from sophomore Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio), to make it a seven-point game, but NJIT followed with a 16-5 spurt to create an 18-point buffer. Smith would drive to the basket in the final seconds, drawing a foul on the play, to send the River Hawks into the break trailing, 35-20.
 
Jones tallied the first five points for UMass Lowell coming out of halftime, sparking the squad's offense to life and starting a 10-3 run to cut the difference to 38-30 with 17 minutes still to go. The River Hawks stayed on the attack in the next five minutes, using a stretch of 10 unanswered points that was capped off by an over-the-shoulder, no-look layup by senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) to regain the upper hand at 46-45.
 
The teams were tied once before the Highlanders outscored their hosts, 12-3, to lead by nine, 60-51, at 8:57. The visitors maintained at least a three-point edge until Harris took a hard foul on the way to the basket for a three-point play, erasing the gap at 70-70 with 3:24 left on the clock. The score was tied twice more, the last time coming at 74-74 with just over two minutes remaining. Both sides traded go-ahead attempts, but the difference maker was a free throw by Rob Ukawuba in the final seconds of action.   
 
Damon Lynn led four Highlanders in double figured with 21 points on the day, while Tim Coleman posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Saturday's contest marked the seventh meeting ever between UMass Lowell and NJIT in the sport of men's basketball. The Highlanders now lead the all-time series, 4-3. The River Hawks will play one more game before their break for finals when they visit Sacred Heart for a 7 p.m. tilt on Tuesday, December 6.