Box Score (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – Propelled by five double-digit scorers, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (10-9, 2-2 AE) came from behind in the second half to defeat America East opponent UAlbany (5-13, 0-3 AE) on Wednesday evening.
 
"I thought that was a great, comeback win against a good team on our home floor," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I think Albany is a very good team, I don't care what their record is, they played really hard and are well coached. The first half clearly wasn't going our way, but I told our guys at halftime to just keep believing and they did that. It started to open up on offense and w didn't force anything. We got contributions from a lot of guys and that's why we were able to beat a good Albany team."
 
Sophomore Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) matched a career high with 22 points to lead the offensive effort. Freshman Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.) also had a breakout game with a personal-best 16 points. Redshirt-junior Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) logged his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while rookies Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) and Darius Henderson (Pasadena, Calif.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Noel and Henderson combined for the River Hawks' first buckets of the night, but neither side was able to take more than a one-possession margin for the majority of the opening half, as the game featured seven lead changes in the first 11 minutes. However, UAlbany, who shot over 70 percent in the first, was able to put together a 16-2 run to take a 28-15 edge with 4:57 remaining in the half.
 
Rivera was a catalyst off the bench, though, giving the home squad the momentum with a trio of triples during a 14-4 run that cut the difference to just three, 32-29, at 2:41. The Great Danes used five consecutive points to extend their margin back to eight, but Daley and Henderson made it just a four-point game with seconds to go. The visitors would strike once more before the break, though, beating the buzzer with a long three to make the halftime score, 42-35.
 
The Great Danes tallied the first points of the second before Lutete pulled up for a three to help the River Hawks outscore their opponents 12-2 in the next five minutes and even the board at 47-47 with 14:49 left to play. The teams battled for control, trading baskets with four more ties until Noel sparked eight unanswered points as part of a 16-3 spurt that put UMass Lowell ahead, 70-59, at 4:46.
 
Although the visitors closed the gap back to single-digits twice more, Noel and Lutete tallied seven straight points to give the home team its largest lead of the night, 79-63, with less than three minutes to go and secure the squad's second conference win of the year.
 
UAlbany still owns an 11-9 lead in the all-time series between the two squads. The River Hawks will be back in action on Saturday, January 19 when they travel to Hartford for a 2 p.m. tipoff.