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LOWELL, Mass. – Although the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (8-11, 3-2 AE) was within two points of the lead with five minutes to play, the visiting Stony Brook Seawolves (9-8, 4-0 AE) were able to pull away down the stretch to take an 86-75 win on Monday afternoon.
 
Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) logged his fourth straight game with double figures for points and rebounds, totaling 18 and 15, respectively. Senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) led the River Hawks in the contest with 23 points, going 5-for-10 from long range. Sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.), who finished the day with 16 points and classmate Logan Primerano (Peru, Ind.), who recorded 10, rounded out the team's double-digit scorers.
 
"We lost to a very good basketball team today," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I was really impressed with Stony Brook as a team, how hard they played and how well they played together. They're strong, they share the basketball and they play on both sides of the floor, so I knew in the first five minutes that we were going to have to play exceptionally well to pull this one off. I thought we battled in the second half, which was great. We really fought hard and got back in the game a couple times, but then we gave into fatigue. And whenever we did break down and make a defensive mental error, Stony Brook capitalized."
 
The River Hawks got on the board with a deep three from Jones, but Stony Brook used nine straight points to build an early, 11-3 edge. Livingston followed with back-to-back triples for the home team before the Seawolves extended their margin to double-digits at 19-9 with 14:24 remaining in the first half.
 
A free throw from Thomas and a three-point play from Jones made it a two-possession game, although SBU responded with an 11-4 stretch to pull ahead, 30-17, at 9:04. The visitors maintained at least a 12-point advantage until Primerano sparked a 10-3 run that was capped off by junior Matt Harris' (Erie, Pa.) three from the corner, closing the gap to 41-31 with 3:23 left in the half. The River Hawks continued to chip away in the waning minutes of the period, as long balls from Primerano and Jones cut the difference to just 48-39 at the break.
 
UMass Lowell scored five of the first seven points coming out of halftime to make it a six-point game. Although Stony Brook led by as many as eight twice more, the River Hawks answered with a 10-4 spurt, including seven points from Thomas, to put the team within one, 55-54, at 13:47 in the second.
 
The Seawolves were able to regain a double-digit buffer at 66-56 with 10 minutes still to go, but the River Hawks converted on five free throws in the next two minutes to cut the lead in half. Back-to-back baskets from Livingston and Thomas would make the score 68-66 at 5:57. However, UMass Lowell could not come any closer, as SBU outscored the home team, 18-9, in the final minutes to seal the 86-75 decision.
 
Monday's contest marked the 15th meeting between UMass Lowell and Stony Brook in the sport of men's basketball. The Seawolves now lead the all-time series, 11-4. The River Hawks head back out on the road when they visit Vermont on Thursday, January 19 for a 7 p.m. tilt.