LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) logged 17 points and 11 rebounds, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (11-18, 5-9 AE) faced a 94-77 setback against top ranked Vermont (23-7, 13-2 AE) on Senior Night.
 
"Tonight was Senior Night and it didn't go the way we wanted on the basketball court," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "But I've never been surrounded, but a better group of people than this senior class. These players, student assistant coach and managers, their leadership, their hard work and passion have been unparalleled in the years I've been at UMass Lowell. They've made huge contributions and will be remembered for a long time, so I just want to thank them for all their hard work."
 
Lutete's performance marked his fourth double-double of the season and the 14th of his career. Junior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) finished with 14 points, while freshman Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) added 12 points and three assists.
 
The Catamounts quickly created a double-digit buffer in the first four minutes of the contest. Gantz drove to the basket for an and-1 at 15:42 to surpass the prestigious 1,000 career point milestone before freshman Ron Mitchell (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Lutete combined for four straight points to cut the difference to 27-18 with 10:48 remaining in the first half.
 
The visitors scored seven of the next eight points, but freshman Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) followed with a triple and Gantz added another layup to put the River Hawks within 10. The home team was within 10 once more in the period, although Vermont put together a 12-2 run in the waning minutes to stretch the lead to 57-37 at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Gantz opened the scoring for both sides. Withers and Noel would chip in, as the River Hawks outscored the Catamounts, 7-2, to make it 59-44 with 16:56 still to go.
 
UVM extended its advantage as far as 25 in the contest, but threes from Noel and Thomas closed the gap to 83-67 at 5:26. However, the River Hawks were unable to come any closer in the decision.
 
Prior to the game Lutete and Gantz, along with student assistant coach Stefan Borovac, and managers Xander Anderson, Zach Caraviello and Griffin Lyon were honored with a special Senior Night ceremony.
 
Vermont now leads the all-time series, 12-2. The River Hawks will wrap up the regular season on the road at New Hampshire on Tuesday, March 3.