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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's basketball team (11-20, 5-11 AE) battled back in the second half, but faced a 78-67 loss against New Hampshire (18-11, 9-6 AE) to wrap up the 2016-17 season on Senior Night at the Tsongas Center.
 
Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) and sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) paced the River Hawks with 23 and 21 points, respectively. The team's lone senior, Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.), was honored in a special pre-game ceremony in front of a season-best 3,779 fans.
 
"I thought it was a fun night in the Tsongas Center," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It was a really good college basketball game and a great atmosphere. Tyler has meant a lot to our program and it's been unbelievably rewarding to see him develop over the last four years."
 
Despite trailing by 19 midway through the first half, the River Hawks fought to tie the score on two occasions, including at 63-63 with less than seven minutes to go before New Hampshire went on to earn the decision.
 
"Tonight was a game that I thought could have gone either way," added Duquette. "I was really proud of our guys for fighting back. We were down almost 20 against a really physical New Hampshire team that's hard to score points against. I thought the second half was our best defensive effort all year. Overall, I'm disappointed we couldn't win this game, but very happy that we played well and had a chance to win against one of the league's better teams."
 
The River Hawks were held without a field goal in the first six minutes of play, as New Hampshire jumped out to an early, 16-2 lead. The Wildcats led by as many as 19 before Jones tallied a pair of buckets to make the score 27-12 with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Jones and Thomas would drive to the hoop on back-to-back possessions to cut the difference to 31-16 at 7:09. UNH was able to maintain at least a 15-point advantage until Livingston drained a three to change the momentum and help the River Hawks pull within 11 at 41-27 with 1:32 left in the half. Thomas then beat the shot clock with a long ball in the waning seconds and Harris knocked down a triple on the final play to send the River Hawks into the break down, 41-33.
 
UMass Lowell was aggressive coming out of halftime, tallying the first two baskets on shots by Thomas. Freshman Stefan Borovac (Stoney Creek, Ontario) then floated in a layup of his own to close the gap to just three at 44-41 with 17:08 still to go.
 
UNH scored six in a row to regain a double-digit margin, but Jones scored five straight to spark a 12-2 River Hawk run that evened the scoreboard, 55-55, at 10:56. The home team continued to battle, knotting the score once more at 63-63, although UNH closed the game on a 15-4 run to secure the victory.
 
Tanner Leissner led the Wildcats with 24 points, while Jaleen Smith and Jordan Reed added 18 and 15 points, respectively.
 
Wednesday's game marked the ninth meeting between UMass Lowell and New Hampshire in the sport of men's basketball. The Wildcats now own an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series.