Box Score (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) logged a career-high 20 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (4-3) defeated UMass Boston, 88-59, on Friday afternoon.
 
"There were certainly some good things and I'm happy with the win," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It wasn't our best game, particularly offensively. UMass Boston is a really scrappy team. They've got a lot of good shooters and a lot of quickness that beats you off the dribble. Offensively, I thought we were out of sync in the first half and we just weren't making the ball move, so we need to get back to that."
 
Noel went 8-for-8 from the line in the contest. Redshirt-senior Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) added a season-high 18 points, while redshirt-junior Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) totaled 10 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Freshman Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.) finished with a game-high five assists, as well.
 
Freshman Darius Henderson (Pasadena, Calif.) threw a full-court pass up to Noel for the River Hawks' first bucket of the day, as the home squad jumped out to a quick, 8-2 advantage in the opening minutes. The Beacons used a 6-2 spurt to make it a one-possession game, but UMass Lowell answered with nine of the next 10 points to take its first double-digit lead of the day, 19-9, with 9:29 remaining in the first half.
 
With the help of six points from freshman Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md), the home team worked to lead by as many as 13 at 28-15 with just over six minutes left in the period. Although UMass Boston would outscore its host, 10-2, in the next four minutes to cut the difference to five, Gantz knocked down a three and Lutete pulled up for a jumper to give the River Hawks a 35-26 edge at the break.
 
The Beacons recorded the first points coming out of halftime, but Henderson sparked nine straight UMass Lowell points, extending the team's margin to 50-28 with 16:34 left to play. UMass Boston was back within 12 once more before the River Hawks used a 19-3 run, that was capped off by a deep three from Gantz, to pull away, 63-35, at 11:48.
 
UMass Lowell's largest lead of the day came with less than eight minutes to go in the contest following an and-1 from Noel, which made the score 70-41. The team would then maintain at least a 22-point buffer in the final minutes en route to the 88-59 outcome.
 
As a team, the River Hawks outrebounded the Beacons, 56-41, while totaling 18 assists.
 
UMass Lowell now owns a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series against UMass Boston. The River Hawks will head back out on the road for a non-conference matchup at Duquesne on Sunday, November 25 at 1 p.m.