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LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) matched a personal best with 28 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (11-18, 5-9 AE) fell, 87-66, against Vermont (24-5, 14-0 AE) on You Can Play Night at the Tsongas Center in front of a season-best 2,540 fans.
 
Thomas set a new career high with 13 field goals in the decision. Senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) totaled 14 points, while freshman RInardo Perry (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 13. Perry tied a season high with three three-pointers. Junior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.), who added six points, recorded a personal-best four steals, as well.
 
"We lost to a very good basketball team tonight," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I really think Vermont is by far the best team in our league. They are extremely deep and talented. They play hard and share the ball, and make you have to be really good on defense to stop them. We did some things well tonight. I thought in the first half, we moved the ball well and got some decent shots. It's good to see Rinardo Perry hit some big shots. Defensively, the biggest thing is we have to guard the dribble better as a team and take a little more pride in that."
 
The River Hawks tallied the first points of the night off a layup from Thomas, but Vermont quickly answered with an 18-3 spurt to create an early double-digit lead. Livingston gave the home squad a spark with a pull-up jumper and a long ball on consecutive possessions, although the Catamounts would extend their margin to 27-10 with 9:48 remaining in the first half.
 
UMass Lowell used threes from Perry on three straight trips down the court to cut the difference back to nine, 30-21, at 7:02. The visitors led by as many as 17 once more before Perry drained a jumper and Harris knocked down a triple. Thomas then posted the River Hawks last three points of the period to head into the break trailing, 44-31.
 
Coming out of the halftime, UMass Lowell closed the gap to 11 twice thanks to buckets from Livingston and Thomas. However, the Catamounts put together a 10-3 run, making the score 56-38 with 15:37 left to play. The teams traded 10 points each, with Thomas logging all of those for the home team during that stretch, until Vermont scored eight in a row to take a 74-48 advantage.
 
Livingston and Thomas each banked in a layup before Perry slammed a one-handed dunk to put the score at 74-54 with 7:12 to go. The River Hawks were unable to come any closer in the final minutes, though, as Vermont took the 87-66 decision.
 
Anthony Lamb posted 24 points to lead a UVM squad that shot 62.3 percent (33-53) in the outing. Trae Bell-Haynes followed with 18 points.
 
The River Hawks donned You Can Play warm-up shirts to recognize the You Can Play project, a SAAC initiative which is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
Wednesday's contest marked the eighth meeting between UMass Lowell and Vermont in the sport of men's basketball. The Catamounts now own a 6-2 edge in the all-time series. The River Hawks will play their final road game of the year on Saturday, February 18 when they visit UMBC for a 1 p.m. matchup.