Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Interview

BALTIMORE, Md. – Sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) had a career day with a personal-best 32 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (11-19, 5-10 AE) came up just short in an offensive battle at UMBC (17-10, 8-6 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
 
"We didn't give up and we played guys a lot of minutes," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "This was a breakout game for Ryan Jones, not just scoring, but overall he was very confident with the basketball. Will Darley may have one of the single best games I've seen since we've been in this league. It seemed like he didn't miss. Some of that is on us, we have to do a better job making him uncomfortable, but he played as good as anybody we've played against in my four years here."
 
Jones logged new career highs with nine field goals and nine free throws made in the performance. He also tied a personal-best mark with seven assists on the day. Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas totaled 26 points for his 12th 20-point showing of the year, while senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) added 18 points of his own.
 
The River Hawks' first two buckets of the day came by way of Livingston, but UMBC was quick to jump out to a 19-6 advantage in the opening minutes. UMass Lowell responded, though, with a 16-4 spurt that included eight points from Jones to close the gap to just one at 23-22 with 10:10 remaining in the first half.
 
The Retrievers worked to regain a double-digit margin, 35-24, at 6:44 in the period. Livingston tallied seven consecutive points for the visitors to make it a two-possession game, and although the home team would lead by as many as nine once more, UMass Lowell scored 11 of the next 13 points to pull back within one at 43-42 with 1:33 to go in the first. However, UMBC drained a pair of threes in the last minute to take a 49-42 edge into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks used a triple from Jones and a three-point play from Thomas to cut the difference to 54-48, but the Retrievers were able to create a 10-point buffer on two more occasions. Eight unanswered points put the visitors within a basket at 62-60 with 14:53 still to go, but they could not come any closer, as UMBC pulled away, 78-67, at 11:21.
 
The Retrievers maintained at least a nine-point edge until Jones scored five in a row to make the score 85-78 with 9:09 left to play. The River Hawks were within seven twice more in the final minutes, but UMBC earned the 108-102 decision.
 
Will Darley paced four Retrievers in double figures with a game-high 38 points, including 10 three-pointers. Jairus Lyles and Rodney Elliott chipped in with 14 points apiece, and Arkel Lamar finished with 11.
 
Saturday's contest marked the eighth meeting between UMass Lowell and UMBC in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks, who still own a 6-2 lead all-time in that series, return home for their season finale on Wednesday, February 22 against New Hampshire. Tipoff for the Senior Night contest is slated for 7 p.m.