LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) registered a game-high 23 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team opened the 2022-23 campaign with a 108-43 win against Fisher College (3-3) on Monday evening.
The victory marked the River Hawks' third straight season-opening victory and ninth consecutive win in a home opener.
"It was great to go up against somebody other than ourselves, which we've been doing every day at practice," said Head Coach
Pat Duquette. "We've had a great offseason. We feel like we have more talent and depth on this team than we've had in the past. That has made our practices very competitive and I think it's prepared us for the beginning of the season well. Today was a good win for us."
Hammond went a team-best, 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to lead six double-digit scorers. Senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) chipped in with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, both of which were personal bests. A total of 10 different River Hawks scored a point in the contest, as the team shot 51.8% (44-85) from the field.
Coulibaly knocked down his first bucket as a River Hawk to open the scoring for the home team in the new season. Hammond followed with six early points to help his squad build a double-digit buffer in the first five minutes of the contest and consecutive threes from Hammond, senior Connor Withers (Manassas, Va.) and junior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) sparked a 14-3 run to extend the difference to 26-7 with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.
The Falcons responded with nine unanswered, as they worked to cut the difference back to eight, 30-22, at 4:51. However, an 11-2 River Hawk spurt that was capped off by a massive dunk by junior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) helped the home side take a 49-25 edge into the break.
Senior
Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) drained a three in the opening seconds of the second half, as the River Hawks heated up on both ends. The defense held Fisher to just a bucket in the first seven minutes, pulling away on the opposite end with 30 points, including 10 from Hammond, stretching the difference to 79-27.
Up next, the River Hawks visit Ivy League member Columbia for a matchup on Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m.
