BURLINGTON, Vt. – Despite trailing by as many as 13 on the night, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (14-14, 6-10 AE) made a valiant run in the final five minutes, but came up just short of knocking off top-ranked Vermont (24-5, 16-1 AE) in a 62-61 decision on Saturday.
 
The Catamounts led by their largest margin at 57-44 with six minutes remaining, but senior Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) drove to the hoop to spark a 12-1 run that was capped off by four straight points from classmate Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.), cutting the difference to just two with 98 seconds to go. Blunt put his squad within a bucket once more before Hammond sunk a triple at the buzzer, but Vermont converted on its final chances at the line to hang on for the outcome.

"We played really good defense again and didn't quit when it would have been easy to," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We gave ourselves a chance to win against a very good Vermont team. There is no time to look back."
 
Blunt paced the River Hawks with 19 points, while Hammond matched season highs with four triples and 18 points. Sophomore Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) added eight rebounds, as well.
 
Brooks laid in the first points of the contest ahead of early buckets from sophomores Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) that forced an early stalemate almost six minutes into play. Brooks and junior Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) both also logged early blocks, but the Catamounts took control of the momentum with a 14-2 run, creating a 24-11 edge with 7:58 remaining in the first.
 
Mincey scored four, including a jam, as part of a quick, 7-2 River Hawk spurt that made it 26-18 at 4:35. The home team led by double-digits once more before Blunt and Hikim each pulled up for a jumper on back-to-back possessions and Hammond hit a three to cut the difference to just three, 28-25, inside of the last three minutes. However, Vermont tallied the last two baskets to extend the difference to 32-25 at the break.
 
The defense for both sides continued to set the tone in the second half, as neither side was able to score in the first three minutes before the home team pulled ahead by 12. Blunt and graduate student John Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) worked to put UMass Lowell back within single-digits, but UVM would build its largest buffer of the night in the next six minutes to lead 57-44 ahead of the River Hawks' final stand.
 
The River Hawks will host New Hampshire on Tuesday, March 1 for Senior Night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.