PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) recorded a career-high 18 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (2-1) came up just short at Big Ten foe Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.
Despite trailing by as many as 18 early in the second half, the River Hawks maintained their composure and showed their resilience by going on to outscore their hosts, 27-19, and make it a six-point game with two minutes remaining.
"Absolutely no shame in our loss today," said Head Coach
Pat Duquette. "Rutgers is a very good Big Ten team with a great home court atmosphere. We battled all game on defense, held them to 33% from the field and had a chance to cut it to one possession with just over a minute to go. I'm proud of our guys."
Coulibaly shot 58% (7-12) from the floor and added eight rebounds in the contest. Junior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) added 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, in addition to three blocks.
In the clash of two defensive-minded teams, the sides combined to force three turnovers in the opening minutes, while limiting the scoring to just the same number of buckets. The River Hawks would hold the Scarlet Knights to a stretch of just 1-for-8 shooting early in the first, allowing the visitors to stay within a bucket following a driving layup by Brooks and a free throw by Coulibaly that made it 6-5 with 13:22 remaining in the first.
The Rutgers' offense got a boost with a quick, 9-2 spurt to help the team take its first double-digit buffer at 19-9 with just over nine minutes to go in the half, but back-to-back baskets from Brooks and graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver, Spring, Md.) made it a two-possession game. Two minutes later, junior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) drove to the hoop, sparking a 6-2 River Hawk run that was capped off by a step-back jumper from Hammond to put his team within four, 23-19, at 4:39. However, the home team closed the period on an 11-2 streak to stretch the difference to 34-21 at the break.
Graduate student
Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) opened the second-half scoring with UMass Lowell's first triple of the game and Coulibaly banked in a layup on the next trip down the court, cutting the buffer back to single digits once again. The Scarlet Knights responded with consecutive threes and worked to lead by as many as 18 early in the second.
A layup by Brooks and a trey from graduate student Mikey Watkins (Roselle, N.J.) bookended an 11-2 run that put the River Hawks within nine, 48-39, with 12:46 still to play. The visitors battled to stay in it, heating up from beyond the arc, while also fighting for points in the paint, shooting 54.5% from the field as a team in the second. UMass Lowell continued to chip away and was back within nine three times before Coulibaly finished an and-1 and a driving bucket to close the gap to just six, 67-61, with two minutes to play. Rutgers was able to stave off the late attack, though, using free throws down the stretch to seal the outcome.
The River Hawks head back home to wrap up this in-season MTE when they host Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16.
