VESTAL, N.Y. – After 13, first-half lead changes, the final 20 minutes proved to be the difference, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (8-5, 0-1 AE) fell, 68-63, in the 2021-22 America East Conference opener at Binghamton (4-6, 1-0 AE) on Sunday.
 
Despite trailing by as many as eight late in the second half, the River Hawks worked their way back within a bucket inside of the final minute, but a strong finish to an 80% (20-25) day at the foul line secured the outcome for the home team.

"We got beat today on both sides of the ball," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We played tentative on offense. Didn't draw fouls. Missed far too many open shots. We let them feel comfortable all game and didn't make tough, winning plays on defense and fouled too much. This conference is good top to bottom. We need to get better fast."
 
Junior Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) led the way offensively for the River Hawks, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 21 points. Sophomore Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) added 13 points, while graduate student Justin Faison (Prince George's County, Md.) totaled two assists and two steals.

Both sides took the early minutes of the contest to get comfortable offensively, as the outing marked the first for the River Hawks in two weeks, while the Bearcats had not seen action in three. However, four quick points from senior Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) gave the visitors a 7-5 edge with 13 minutes remaining in the first.
 
Binghamton retaliated with the next four points, though, in a half that seesawed back-and-forth with 13 lead changes. Thomas sunk two straight threes before setting up Hikim for a third as part of an 11-3 run that built the River Hawks' the largest advantage of the period, 24-18, at 7:21, but the home team would close the first with a 14-4 spurt to take a 32-28 edge into the locker room.
 
Thomas made it a one-point game after the break, sinking a long ball from the far corner, although the Bearcats scored seven of the next nine to match the largest margin yet, 39-33, with 16:54 to go. Hikim then answered with back-to-back buckets to cut the difference to just two until Binghamton put together a 7-2 burst, creating the game's largest lead, 49-41, at 12:03.
 
The home team maintained at least a three-point buffer until sophomore Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) hit a three and Blunt converted at the line, closing the gap to just two, 55-53, with six minutes to play. The next six points came on the opposite end of the court, though, as the Bearcats led by eight twice more down the stretch.  
 
The River Hawks are back in action on Thursday, January 6 when they host Stony Brook at 6 p.m.