BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) logged a game- and career-high 33 points in a 93-85 overtime heartbreaker for the No. 7 seeded UMass Lowell men's basketball team (15-16) at No. 2 UMBC (17-13) on Saturday.
 
Despite erasing a 13-point second half deficit in the America East Quarterfinal matchup and forcing overtime on a driving layup by Blunt that knotted the score at 78-78, the River Hawks were outscored, 15-7, in the extra period, as UMBC secured its bid into the semifinals.
 
In overtime, the teams were tied at 80-80 before the home team used three blocks and two steals on the defensive end, and a 13-for-16 effort at the foul line to hold on for the decision.

"My guys played their hearts out tonight in a tough environment," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We fought back and had a chance to win. I'm proud of them. Congrats to a very good and well-coached UMBC team."
 
Blunt, who shot 65% from the floor, added a team-high seven rebounds to his stat line. Sophomore Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 22 points and four assists, while sophomore Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) finished the contest with 11 points of his own.
 
Both sides came out strong, with each squad shooting over 60% from the field through the first six minutes of the outing. The home team led by a bucket early on, but a tough and-1 from Brooks before back-to-back threes from Blunt and one from graduate student John Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave the River Hawks an 18-13 edge with 14:13 remaining in the first half.
 
UMass Lowell kept a one-possession lead until the Retrievers' Keondre Kennedy sparked a 16-4 run to create a 34-26 advantage at 7:05. Hikim drove left for the pull-up that snapped the streak and Blunt followed with another triple to make it a five-point game. However, UMBC scored six of the next seven points to create a double-digit buffer, 44-34, with less than three minutes to go before the half. Blunt would add three more points, including an offensive putback, while junior Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) closed the period with a dunk, cutting the difference to 44-38 headed into the locker room.
 
Blunt and Hikim made it a two-possession game to start the second, but five straight points put the Retrievers up 55-44, with 16:56 to go. The home team led by 11 twice more before Blunt and Thomas made it an eight-point game seven minutes later.
 
UMBC would stretch its margin as far as 13, but there was no quit in the River Hawks, as Hikim and senior Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) combined for 10 unanswered, pulling the visitors back within a bucket, 75-72, at 3:07. L.J. Owens responded with an and-1, although Hikim and Hammond continued to keep the pressure on down the stretch and allowed Blunt to even the board in the final seconds of regulation.
 
The River Hawks finish the 2021-22 season with a 15-16 overall record.