LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) logged a game-high 24 points in a low-scoring setback for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (9-16, 3-7 AE) against UMBC (11-14, 4-6 AE) on Team IMPACT Day and Alumni Day at the Tsongas Center.
 
The River Hawks led for over 31 minutes in the contest, but the final six proved to be in the difference, as the Retrievers outscored their hosts 17-1 during that stretch to erase the difference for good and pull away for the decision.
 
"I thought we could've won that game at multiple points," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "This is the worst one of my teams has ever shot the ball, especially in the second half. We didn't give up a lot of points, but they took control of the game at the right moment. It's frustrating for both the coaches and the players, but we have a lot of basketball games that we can win left on our schedule and we need to get better from here."
 
Noel was the only double-digit scorer for UMass Lowell, while graduate student Christian Lutete (Silver Spring, Md.) chipped in with a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) totaled three steals and three assists, as well.
 
The Retrievers scored the first bucket of the day, but UMass Lowell followed with eight straight points, including four from Lutete to take an early 8-2 advantage with 13:24 remaining in the first half.
 
UMBC would make it a one-point game on three occasions before Noel and Lutete combined for five in a row to regain a two-possession buffer for the home team, 20-14, at 5:52. The River Hawks would then maintain at least a three-point edge until UMBC tallied six of the last nine points in the half, but a three from the top of the key by Noel helped keep his team on top at the break, 27-25.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Retrievers evened the board at 27-27, although the River Hawks followed with a 12-4 run that was capped off by a jumper from sophomore Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md.) to give the team a 39-31 edge with 11:58 still to play.
 
UMBC worked to erase the difference once again before UMass Lowell answered with another 8-0 run, including a put-back three from graduate student Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio) to stretch the margin to 47-39 at 7:56, however the visitors would start their final comeback from there.
 
UMass Lowell still leads the all-time series against UMBC, 8-7. Up next, the River Hawks host Maine on Wednesday, February 12 at 7 p.m.