DURHAM, N.H. – Led by a game-high 28 points from senior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.), the No. 6 seeded UMass Lowell men's basketball team (10-11) was able to stave off late pressure and upset No. 3 New Hampshire (10-5), 72-64, to earn its first ever Hercules Tires America East Playoffs quarterfinal victory on Sunday.
 
Although the River Hawks led by as many as 21 halfway through the second, the Wildcats would not go quietly, as the home team put together a 19-4 run that made it a one-possession game, 65-62, with just over a minute to go. Noel hit a clutch layup, but UNH was quickly back within a bucket before sophomore Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) knocked down a crucial three from the corner to seal the decision.
 
"I know this has been an uncommon year, but four times has been a lot to play UNH," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "They're always gut-wrenching games. I thought this might actually be the first time we wouldn't have a close game, but they just kept fighting. That's really hard to do with no fans, to keep your kids engaged, and there was no quit in them whatsoever."
 
With the win, the River Hawks earn their first trip to the tournament semifinals, and will visit No. 1 UMBC on Saturday, March 6.
 
"We learned a lot," added Duquette. "We learned how good we can be. Defensively, we were great in the first half and even the first 10 minutes of the second, but it's fragile and it can go either way. I'm really happy for our guys. We're in the semifinals of the America East, which is a place we've never been, so we're going to fix the mistakes tomorrow, and tonight we're going to be proud, and enjoy one another's company and a big win for our program."
 
Noel went 10-for-16 (62.5%) from the field and added seven rebounds. Seven other River Hawks scored in the contest, including sophomore Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.), who was the only other River Hawk in double figures on the day, totaling 11 points and seven rebounds of his own. Redshirt-sophomore Bryce Daley (Pittsfield, Mass.) registered three assists, as well.
 
After UNH opened the scoring on the afternoon, the teams battled through six lead changes in the first six minutes until Noel and Withers combined for seven straight points to give the River Hawks an 18-12 advantage with 10:21 remaining in the first half.
 
The Wildcats pulled within a basket, but Withers sparked a 9-1 run that included four from freshman Anthony Blunt (Bowie, Md.) to stretch the margin as far as 27-16 at 6:35. The home team responded by chipping away at the difference, cutting it to five inside of the last three minutes of the period, but Noel and Thomas scored down the stretch to send UMass Lowell into the break on top, 36-29.
 
The River Hawks turned up the pressure coming out of halftime, capitalizing on over six scoreless minutes for UNH with 11 unanswered to extend the buffer to 47-29. Five minutes later, Noel capped off an 8-2 spurt with a triple to give his squad its largest lead of the day, 55-34, with 9:31 left on the clock before the team held off UNH's late comeback attempt.