LOWELL, Mass. – In a game that saw seven lead changes and was decided inside of the last seconds, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (8-11, 7-8 AE) was narrowly edged by New Hampshire (9-8, 8-6 AE), 69-67, on Senior Day.
 
The Wildcats led by six with less than a minute left in regulation, but some late game heroics, including deep threes from junior Allin Blunt (Bowie, Md.) and sophomore Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) put the River Hawks within one with five seconds on the clock. However, UNH's Nick Johnson hit a free throw and the visitors were able to fend off a final UMass Lowell possession to secure the result.
 
"This was a tough loss against a tough New Hampshire team that we've faced three times in the last couple of weeks," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It seems like every game always comes down to the stretch and some losses are tougher than others, and this is one of them. We did a good job fighting back. We outrebounded them and we played good defense. We didn't turn them over. I think that was probably the only area we didn't win the game, but we did so many things well. So as disappointing as the result is, I think we're in a good place."
 
The River Hawks had three players in double figures in the contest. Sophomore Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) led the way with 16 points, while Allin Blunt had 14 and Thomas added 12. Graduate student Salif Boudie (Bamako, Mali) paced the team with six rebounds, as well.
 
UMass Lowell won the tip and quickly capitalized with a long two from Withers, who led all scorers in the first half with eight points. The Wildcats kept it within five until sophomore Gregory Hammond (New Orleans, La.) went coast-to-coast and sophomore Ron Mitchell (Philadelphia, Pa.) converted at the line to put the home team ahead, 14-8, with 10:38 remaining in the first half.
 
UMass Lowell led by as many as seven in the half thanks to a two-handed slam by freshman Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.), but the Wildcats mounted a comeback with a 10-3 run, taking their first lead of the day, 25-23, at 1:26. The River Hawks knotted the score twice down the stretch, but UNH banked in a layup at the buzzer to head into the break with a 29-27 advantage.
 
The River Hawks quickly recaptured the lead to start the second half with back-to-back threes from Thomas and redshirt-sophomore Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.). UNH forced a trio of stalemates before Mitchell knocked down a big three to make it 44-41 with under 13 to go.
 
The teams traded baskets and UMass Lowell led once more, 51-50, at 6:36, but UNH scored the next seven points to take the lead for good.
 
The River Hawks will now await their America East Championship seeding and opponent.