Box Score (PDF)

BALTIMORE, Md. – The UMass Lowell men's basketball team (14-13, 6-6 AE) battled back from a 10-point deficit, pulling within two in the final minute, but UMBC (17-10, 9-3 AE) held on for the 70-66 America East decision on Saturday afternoon.
 
"I was surprised we had a chance to win today," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I didn't think we played that well. We played hard, but not as smart as we usually do. It's tough to beat a good team like UMBC on the road unless it's a great overall team performance."
 
The River Hawks were paced by redshirt-junior Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) with 17 points, while freshman Darius Henderson (Pasadena, Calif.) knocked down a personal-best three, three-pointers en route to a season-high 13 points. Sophomore Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) rounded out the scorers in double figures with 11 points. Redshirt-senior Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) posted a game-high four assists, as well.
 
A one-handed finished by Henderson put the River Hawks on the board, and although the UMBC would lead by as many as seven in the opening minutes, the visitors would use eight unanswered, including a second-change layup by senior Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.), to take their first lead of the day, 13-12, with 10:15 remaining in the first half.
 
The squads then traded baskets and were tied on two occasions before the Retrievers put together a quick, 7-3 spurt to pull ahead, 22-17, at 5:02. The River Hawks battled back with free throws from Lutete, and a big steal and three ball from Henderson to knot the score once again, but UMBC outscored UMass Lowell, 10-6, in the waning minutes with the help of a triple in the final seconds, taking a 32-38 buffer into the break.
 
The home team tallied eight of the first 10 points of the second to extend its lead to double digits, although threes from Lutete and Gantz followed by back-to-back triples from Henderson erased the difference at 42-42 with 15:17 still to play. UMBC responded with nine in a row, though, to regain the upper hand.
 
Freshman Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md.) made it just a four-point game before the Retrievers extended their margin to 10 again, this time 59-49 at 7:59. UMass Lowell was not done, as an and-1 from Noel, and a steal and fast-break layup from freshman Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) cut the lead to just 68-66 with a minute remaining. However, UMBC would hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the outcome.
 
UMass Lowell still leads the all-time series, 7-6 against the Retrievers. The River Hawks will play their final home games of the regular season next week beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 21 against Binghamton.