Box Score (PDF)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The final minute proved to be the difference in a hard-fought, 78-70 America East Championship quarterfinal setback for the No. 5 ranked UMass Lowell men's basketball team (15-17) at No. 4 Hartford (18-14) on Saturday evening.
 
The game featured 11 lead changes before sophomore Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) knotted the score for the seventh and final time at 70-70 with 59 seconds left to play. However, a three from Hartford's John Carroll gave the home team the lead for good, as free throws down the stretch would seal the outcome.
 
"This was a great playoff college basketball game," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Great atmosphere, good crowd and two really good teams going at it pretty evenly matched. We've had three great games this season against Hartford. Guys had to make some really good plays in order to win and that's just the type of game you want. I thought they made some great shots in the second half and the game almost slipped away from us two times, but our guys battled and had a chance to win at the end, so it was just a really good game."
 
Noel logged a game-high 21 points to pace the River Hawks. Redshirt-junior Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) added 18 points, while redshirt-senior Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) totaled 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. As a team, the River Hawks shot 49 percent (26-53) from the field.
 
The River Hawks were quick to attack, winning the opening tip and starting the game with buckets from Gantz and freshman Darius Henderson (Pasadena, Calif.). Hartford took a one-possession margin in the early minutes, but great defense allowed the visitors to mount an 11-3 run that was capped off by a triple from freshman Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) to put UMass Lowell on top, 18-12, with 8:47 remaining in the first half.
 
The home team cut the difference to just one before Noel went to work for six points on his squad's next three possessions, giving the River Hawks a 26-21 buffer at 4:53. Both sides traded buckets, as Hartford battled back to within one twice more in the waning minutes, although Lutete, Gantz and Noel combined for seven of the last nine points to send the River Hawks into the break with a 37-31 advantage.
 
Hartford used a 12-1 run coming out of halftime to pull ahead, 43-38, with 16:36 left to go. However, Lutete snapped four scoreless minutes for the River Hawks with consecutive put-backs and a jumper, and Gantz followed with a triple from the top of the key to knot the score, 47-47, at 13:37.
 
The teams continued to fight with four lead changes before Hartford built a two-possession buffer at 62-57 with 6:32 to go. The River Hawks answered with eight straight points to jump back in front for the final time, 67-64, at 3:46, although the home team was back in front a minute later.
 
Hartford now owns a 12-6 lead in the all-time series. The River Hawks close the books on their best Division I season to date with a program-record 15 wins.