LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) led all scorers with 21 points, but the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (10-9, 2-5 AE) dropped a 64-62 heartbreaker in overtime against UAlbany (8-11, 4-3 AE) on Wednesday evening.
 
After 40 minutes was not enough to decide the outcome, the teams battled it out for another five. Blunt put the River Hawks up by a bucket, but the board was even three times down the stretch, including for the last time at 62-62 following a huge, put-back dunk by sophomore Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.). However, free throws by the Great Danes' Matt Cerruti proved to be the final points, as a last-second UAlbany steal on the home team's final possession sealed the decision.
 
"It's been a frustrating couple weeks for us," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Hopefully this is rock bottom for us. This is not where we expected to be or where we wanted to be. Defense isn't the problem. We are just struggling to score every game and we've got way too many guys on the bench that aren't playing. That's the story of the game."
 
Blunt shot 7-for-12 from the field on the night and added a pair of assists. Graduate student John Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Mincey finished with 13 and 10 boards, respectively.
 
The defense controlled the early part of the contest, as the teams combined for five steals and seven blocks through the first 11 minutes. Blunt shifted the River Hawk offense into gear during that stretch, though, sparking an 11-3 run that put his squad on top, 11-7, with 8:30 remaining in the first.
 
Senior Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) found himself wide open on the wing to drain the first three ball of the contest with just over seven minutes to go in the period. The Great Danes cut the difference to just one three times down the stretch, including within the last 30 seconds, but buckets from Blunt and sophomore Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) kept the home team on top, 20-19, at the break.
 
The visitors started the second half on an 11-5 spurt to take a two-possession buffer, 30-25, their largest of the outing. The difference was five once more before Hikim drove down the court and scored on the fast break, igniting the River Hawk offense for a 9-2 run that was capped off by a pair of layups from Hammond on back-to-back trips down the floor to give the home team a 36-34 advantage with 10:23 left.
 
As time ticked away, the Great Danes would force three tied scores, but Thomas sent a massive block into the fourth row, leading to a pull-up jumper on the other end by graduate student Justin Faison (Prince George's County, Md.) to make it 47-44, at 6:21. However, two three-pointers in the last five minutes allowed UAlbany to force the extra period.
 
The Rive Hawks will now head to Hartford to square off against the Hawks for the first time this season on Saturday, January 29 at 2 p.m.