Box Score (PDF)

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Redshirt-senior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) paced three double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (9-15, 3-8 AE) in an 81-69 setback at Vermont (21-5, 11-0 AE) on Sunday afternoon.
 
The River Hawks led by as many as 12 in the first half before the Catamounts tied the score twice and took the upper hand for good late in the period.
 
"I'm really happy with the way we came out," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought we played good. This is obviously the best team in the league and they are on their home floor, but we competed. We fought foul trouble all game and we just got tired. We don't have enough depth, but we fought and that's great. I think we're back to where we were playing prior to the Stony Brook game. I'm proud of our guys."
 
Thomas, who scored over 20 points for the 10th time this season, added four assists and four steals. He also became just the sixth UMass Lowell player to surpass 800 career rebounds in the outing. He was joined in double figures by senior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.) and freshman Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.). Redshirt-junior Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) added nine points and three steals.
 
Vermont won the opening tip and scored the first two buckets of the game, but a pair of threes from Gantz and a finger roll from junior Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) gave the River Hawks their first lead of the day, 8-7, with 16:18 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts led by as many as four once more before the visitors used a 17-7 run that was capped off by a contested triple from Harris to pull away, 25-14, at 11:43.
 
UMass Lowell maintained at least a nine-point advantage until the UVM offense surged with a 12-2 stretch, erasing the difference and knotting the score at 32-32 with 4:48 left in the period. Although a long ball from Noel gave the River Hawks back a two-possession margin, the Catamounts tied the game once more in the waning minutes and would then tally seven of the last eight points to head into the break on top, 44-38.
 
Vermont registered the first seven points of the second half before Perry laid in back-to-back buckets for UMass Lowell. The Catamounts pulled ahead by as many as 16, but Harris knocked down a jumper from beyond the arc to spark a quick, 11-4 spurt that made it an nine-point game at 62-53 with 9:11 left to play.
 
Both sides traded baskets and layups from redshirt-junior Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) put the visitors within nine on one more occasion, although the River Hawks were unable to come any closer in the 81-69 decision.
 
Trae Bell-Haynes tallied 23 points, while three other Catamounts recorded 13 points apiece for the team that shot 62 percent from the floor.  
 
Sunday's contest marked the 10th meeting between UMass Lowell and Vermont in the sport of men's basketball. The Catamounts now lead the all-time series, 8-2. The River Hawks will now play three in a row at home beginning with UAlbany on Thursday, February 15 at 7 p.m.