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LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt sophomore Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) and redshirt freshman Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) recorded 14 and 11 points, respectively, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team fell, 86-61, against UAlbany (23-7, 12-3 AE) in the squad's season finale at the Tsongas Center on Wednesday evening.
 
Seniors Mark Cornelius (Westford, Mass.) and DJ Mlachnik (Muskego, Wis.) were honored in a special pre-game ceremony. With the decision, the River Hawks close out year three of their Division I transition at 11-18 overall and 7-9 in America East play.
 
"Tonight wasn't one of our better games," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It was a not so good ending to what was a really good year for us. The best thing we did tonight was play good half-court, man-to-man defense in the first half. That kept us in the game. In the second half, I thought we played a little uncharacteristically on offense, but overall, I'm really proud of these guys. They had a fantastic year for us."
 
Thomas posted a team-high seven rebounds, while Smith added six boards of his own. Smith also tallied a personal-best four assists on the night. Sophomore Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) chipped in with eight points and redshirt freshman Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) registered seven.
 
The teams played evenly in the early minutes with three tied scores before UAlbany put together a 10-2 run to pull ahead, 16-8, with 13:15 remaining in the first half. Freshman Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) answered with a three, sparking seven straight points for the River Hawks, cutting the difference to just one, 16-15, at 9:42.
 
UMass Lowell made it a one-point game twice more in the next four minutes, including at 22-21 on a massive dunk by Smith with 5:41 left in the first half. The teams continued to trade buckets in the waning minutes of the half with the home squad keeping the lead to just one possession, but the Great Danes tallied five of the last seven points to take a slight, 31-27 edge into the break.
 
Following a pair of free throws for the visitors to open the second half, Gantz knocked down a jumper from beyond the arc to put the River Hawks back within three points of the lead. UAlbany responded, though, with the next 11 consecutive points to take a double-digit margin for the first time in the contest at 44-30 with 17:42 still to go.
 
Back-to-back layups from Smith and Thomas, and a three by Harris closed the gap to seven at 15:26. However, the Great Danes used a 21-6 run to build their largest lead yet at 65-43 with 9:13 remaining on the clock.
 
Cornelius completed a three-point play and freshman Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio) drained a long ball to make the score 67-49 at 7:32, but the River Hawks were unable to come any closer in the final minutes of the outing, as UAlbany went on to seal the 86-61 outcome.
 
Wednesday's contest marked the 15th meeting between UMass Lowell and UAlbany in the sport of men's basketball. The Great Danes now lead the all-time series, 8-7.