Box Score (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – Led by graduate student Christian Lutete with 25 points, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (5-6) used a strong second half to pull away for a decisive, 94-63 victory against St. Francis Brooklyn (3-6) on Saturday afternoon.
 
"This was a great win for us," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I'm really happy with the way we won. I think it's a sign of good progress for us. I thought we played well defensively, it was probably the best we've played. And to be able to not just get the lead, but to extend the lead in the second half and continue to play well was good. We also had a good balanced attack with a lot of contributions, which is always good for us."
 
As a team, the River Hawks shot 59 percent (32-54) from the floor in the contest, including an impressive 60.7 percent in the second half. Lutete added a game-high nine rebounds in the team's last of eight-straight home games. Freshman Ron Mitchell (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior Jordyn Owens (Montclair, N.J.) each set new personal bests for points with 19 and 18, respectively, while junior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) chipped in with 14 points.  
 
The River Hawks, who quickly scored the first seven points of the game, stretched their lead to double-digits early at 20-10 with 11:54 remaining in the first half. However, the Terriers worked to cut the difference back to just a bucket twice, including at 28-26, with 6:05 to go.
 
Lutete scored on consecutive trips down the court to spark an 8-3 spurt that gave the home team some breathing room, 36-29, at 3:24. St. Francis Brooklyn was able to make it a two-possession game, but the River Hawks recorded nine of the final 13 points of the period with the help of a late three from Henderson to take a 45-34 edge into the break.
 
Following a pair of free throws from Owens to open the second half, the Terriers responded with seven straight points to pull within four once again. The River Hawks maintained that two-possession buffer until back-to-back layups for the visitors closed the gap to 53-50 with 14:11 still to play. Mitchell answered with a second-chance three, though, igniting a 17-2 run to put UMass Lowell on top, 70-52, at 7:43.
 
Deniz Celen snapped almost seven minutes of silence for St. Francis Brooklyn, but the River Hawks would continue to pull away, outscoring the visitors, 49-27, in the second half en route to the victory.
 
The all-time series between the two teams is now tied, 1-1. After a month-long stay at home, the River Hawks will hit the road to visit NJIT for a Wednesday night tilt on December 11 at 7 p.m.