Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Interview

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) tied a career-high with eight field goals made to lead the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (8-12, 3-3 AE) in an 81-67 loss at Vermont (16-5, 6-0 AE) on Thursday evening.
 
"This to me was one of our most meaningful losses as a program," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Our guys stepped up and competed. We're not happy with the loss, but saw so many good things in terms of how we played. Even though we went into the locker room down nine, I felt pretty good offensively about how we played. We were just very uncharacteristic in some of the missed shots we had. Overall a lot of good things tonight, this game is going to make us a better team. I saw some things tonight that I hadn't seen before, so a lot of growth in our team."  
 
Jones was the lone River Hawk in double-digits, as redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.), junior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) and freshman Rinardo Perry (Washington, D.C.) each added eight points. Perry also tied a season high with five rebounds, while senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) paced the squad with seven boards.
 
The River Hawks opened the scoring with a three from Harris and built an early, 10-6 edge. Vermont was able to make it a one-possession game, but the visitors used a 9-2 spurt that included four points from Thomas to pull away, 19-10, with 12:31 remaining in the first half.
 
However, the Catamounts worked to erase the difference with a 13-4 run, knotting the score, 23-23, at 8:11 in the period. The teams traded baskets, forcing four, quick lead changes, but UVM outscored UMass Lowell, 14-4, in the waning minutes to take a 40-31 advantage into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks got things started with a pull-up jumper from redshirt-sophomore Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) and a pair of free throws from Harris, although Vermont would tally 10 unanswered en route extending its margin to 56-37 at 15:14 in the second. Jones snapped four scoreless minutes for UMass Lowell when he banked in a reverse, over-the-shoulder layup, but the Catamounts put together a 12-4 stretch to take their largest lead of the night at 68-43 with 12:10 still to go.
 
The River Hawks responded with eight straight points to close the gap to 68-51 at 9:25. Vermont maintained at least a 16-point margin during the final minutes, and despite Livingston and Jones combining for the last six of the outing, the Catamounts earned the 81-67 outcome.
 
Thursday's contest marked the seventh meeting between UMass Lowell and Vermont in the sport of men's basketball. The Catamounts own a 5-2 lead in the all-time series. The River Hawks will return home to host UMBC at 12 p.m. on Sunday, January 22.