LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Ron Mitchell (Philadelphia, Pa.) notched a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to propel the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (2-3, 1-0 AE) to a 73-65 victory against preseason favorite Vermont (0-1, 0-1 AE) in the 2020-21 America East opener on Monday night.
 
"We were happy to get back out there and play a game, and this was a really good win for us," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We had lots of great contributions. Our big guys were good and gave us some rim protection that we haven't had in the past. Vermont is a good team and they've got some good guards. They'll drive it at you and put you in tough spots, so to have some rim protection really helped us defensively."
 
The win marked the River Hawks' first against the Catamounts since 2015-16 and also gave the squad its first victory in a league opener since 2017. The decision also marked the program's seventh consecutive year with a win in the home opener.
 
Mitchell's performance, which included a personal-best six threes, marked his third career double-double. Senior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) added 17 points on the night, all of which came in the second half. Junior Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md.) also set a new career best in the contest with 16 points to help the River Hawks lead the entire way. Redshirt-sophomore Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.) moved the ball well with five assists on his stat line, as well.
 
The River Hawks went on the offensive first, scoring the first eight points of the night, including a three from the wing by Blunt. The Catamounts cut the buffer to just a bucket, but sophomore Darion Jordan-Thomas (Brockton, Mass.) followed with a layup that sparked nine unanswered to help the home team build a double-digit margin, 20-8, with 11:43 remaining in the first half.
 
Vermont would respond with a 14-3 run to make it a one-point game late in the period before Mitchell closed the half with three consecutive jumpers, putting the River Hawks on top, 29-22, at the break. The Catamounts were then within five on two occasions to start the second until the Noel knocked down a trio of triples in less than two minutes and Mitchell added one of his own to give UMass Lowell its largest lead at 44-30, with 14:22 still to play.
 
The visitors worked to cut the lead in half, but the River Hawks maintained at least a seven-point edge until UVM used a three by Stef Smith and four free throws from Ben Shungu to pull within four, 56-52, at 6:19. The score would not come any closer, though, as Mitchell answered with a clutch three and Noel followed with the team's next four baskets to regain a double-digit margin for the home side en route to the 73-65 decision.
 
The River Hawks and Catamounts square off once again at Costello Athletic Center tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, December 22, at 3 p.m. to wrap up the two-game series.