LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) poured in a career-high 23 points to propel the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (10-7, 2-3 AE) to a 71-62 victory against Maine (3-12, 0-4 AE) at home on Wednesday evening.
 
"It was good to get back to winning," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We didn't play perfect by any means and we fought hard against a very resilient Maine team that kept coming at us and didn't have any give-up to their game. Maine went on a late run in the second half and I was happy that my guys responded well. We made more winning plays today and we won the game without shooting the ball well, so if we can just keep getting good shots and moving the ball and sharing it, and then start shooting the ball well, I think the game is going to become a little easier."
 
Blunt shot 67% (8-12) from the floor with four threes to lead the way in the America East win. Junior Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) added 13 points and six rebounds, while graduate student Justin Faison (Prince George's County, Md.) chipped in with 11 points and three assists. Sophomore Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led the team on the glass in his first start with seven rebounds, including a game-high four offensive boards.
 
Although sophomore Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) contributed the first four points of the night for the River Hawks, it was the visitors that built an early, two-possession margin. The Black Bears took advantage of four minutes without a home field goal, stretching the difference as far as eight, but graduate student John Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) snapped the drought with a driving layup to open a quick, 6-2 spurt that cut the difference to 16-12 with 9:08 remaining in the first half.
 
The River Hawks spread the ball around to chip away at the Maine defense, as four different scorers combined for 11 straight points, including five from Thomas, giving the home team its first lead, 23-18, at 4:10. Blunt then kept the momentum going with back-to-back threes just before half to put his squad on top by a 29-26 margin heading into the locker room.
 
Thomas scored on consecutive trips down the court to start the second, and although the Black Bears would then cut the difference back to just two, Blunt turned up the heat with a three and an and-1 as part of an 8-0 run that gave the River Hawks their first double-digit lead, 44-34, with 12:37 left to play.
 
The visitors kept the game to within 10 until buckets from Blunt bookended a Brooks dunk, stretching the buffer to 55-41 at 8:14. However, the Black Bears responded with 10 in a row to close the gap to just two, 62-60, with under two minutes to play. However, free throws by Blunt and a layup by sophomore Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) on the next trip down the court gave the home the breathing room it needed to seal the outcome.
 
Up next, the River Hawks make the short trip to New Hampshire on Saturday, January 22 for a 1 p.m. tip.