LOWELL, Mass. – Led by two, 20-point scorers, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (4-7, 3-4 AE) fended off a late attack to defeat Hartford (7-5, 4-3 AE), 71-62, in the first game of a weekend series on Saturday afternoon.
 
Although Hartford cut the difference to just one with less than four minutes remaining in the contest, sophomore Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) beat the shot-clock with a clutch three and followed with four consecutive free throws to help the River Hawks pull away down the stretch.
 
Senior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) led all scorers with 24 points. Withers matched a career best with 20 points, in addition to grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Graduate student Salif Boudie (Bamako, Mali) set a new season high and rounded out the double-digit scorers with 19 points, while redshirt-sophomore Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.) dished out six assists, as well. As a team, the River Hawks shot a season-high 53.2% (25-47) from the floor.
 
"This was a great win against a very good Hartford team, who was ahead of us in the standings," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Just about everybody who played in today's game contributed and I thought we played the right way. We made winning plays, high-percentage plays, defended and rebounded."
 
Noel drove to the hoop on the first possession of the afternoon and helped his team build an early, six-point margin. Hartford would pull within one on three occasions, but Boudie fought through contact on his way to the bucket to spark a 6-0 stretch that gave the River Hawks a 19-12 advantage with 13:19 remaining in the first.
 
UMass Lowell maintained at least a four-point margin for the next five minutes until the visitors scored five in a row to make it a two-point game. However, the River Hawks answered with a 7-2 spurt that was capped off by a second-chance triple from the wing by Noel, putting his squad ahead, 32-25, at 5:18. The visitors registered seven of the last nine points in the period to force what would be the second of eight tied scores, but Boudie knocked down a mid-range jumper inside the last minute to send his team into the break ahead, 36-34.
 
Coming out of halftime, Hartford outscored its host, 9-3, to take its first lead of the contest. The River Hawks responded with six in a row to regain the upper hand at 45-43, and despite three quick lead changes, Noel and Withers hit back-to-back buckets to give the home team a 51-49 edge with 9:43 to go.
 
The board was even twice more before Noel put the River Hawks on top for good and Withers put the game out of reach.
 
UMass Lowell and Hartford will wrap up the two-game, weekend series tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. tilt.