LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) tallied 21 points to lead five double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (12-17, 6-8 AE) in an 88-69 victory against UAlbany (14-15, 7-7 AE) on Wednesday evening.
 
The River Hawks were strong on both sides of the ball, never giving up the lead in the decision. The team shot 58 percent from the floor on the night with 22 assists, in addition to forcing 10 steals and pulling down 37 rebounds.
 
"I'm really proud of my team today," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought that was our best team effort of the season and one of the better games we've played since I've been here. I was really proud of our forwards collectively in the first half. The way Albany plays, they force the guard to give the ball up and play through your forwards, and our forwards were great. They were aggressive, but unselfish, and they made high-percentage plays and the right passes."
 
With his second straight 20+ point performance, Gantz now sits at 998 career points. Freshman Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) and graduate student Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) added 19 and 16 points, respectively, while junior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) chipped in with 13 and freshman Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) finished with 10 to give the team five scorers in double figures for the fifth time this year.
 
Gantz and Lutete tallied the first points of the night, as the River Hawks quickly built a two-possession buffer. The home team led by as many as six with the help of 12 points from Withers in the first eight minutes, although UAlbany knotted the game at 19-19 with 10:34 remaining in the first.
 
Thomas responded with a corner three and Gantz added back-to-back buckets of his own to put the River Hawks back in front, 26-19, at 8:56. The Great Danes would cut the difference to one on two occasions in the next four minutes, but Noel then drove to the hoop for two, sparking an 8-2 run that was capped off by a triple from Thomas to secure a 39-35 lead for the home team at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Lutete and Withers combined to give the River Hawks a nine-point edge. The Great Danes were able to keep it within single digits until UMass Lowell pulled away with a 14-3 run that included four points from both Gantz and Noel, making the score 61-45 with 12:36 left in the contest.
 
The visitors posted the next seven points to close the gap back to nine once more, but the River Hawks followed with eight unanswered and one final three from Thomas that ignited the bench and gave the team the momentum for good, as the squad stretched the margin as far as 20 in the final minutes.
 
UAlbany still leads the all-time series against the River Hawks, 12-11. The River Hawks will play their regular-season home finale on Saturday, February 29 against Vermont.