LOWELL, Mass. – Seniors Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) and Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) logged 15 points apiece to help lift the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-0) to a 96-51 victory against Rivier (0-1) in the 2023-24 season opener.
 
"It was great to be able to play under the lights against our first opponent," said Assistant Coach Jon Iati. "We got to play a lot of guys and see a lot of the new guys mixed in with our returners. We're trying to form an identity of what we're going to be this year and I think we're working towards that, so this was the first step, but the main goal tonight was let's go out there, play with officials and see how we function as a team, and I thought we achieved what we were trying to tonight."
 
Coulibaly shot 7-for-9 (77.8%) from the floor in the contest, while Hikim added a game-high six assists. Junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) chipped in with 14 points off the bench and senior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) registered 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. As a team, UMass Lowell grabbed an impressive, 50 rebounds and shot 80% (20-25) from the foul line. A total of 11 River Hawks scored at least a basket in the outing with 45 points coming from the bench and 64 coming from inside the paint.
 
Although Rivier sunk a pair of threes in the first minute of action, senior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) got the offense moving with a huge, two-handed slam to spark 14 unanswered River Hawk points. Coulibaly went off during that stretch, scoring nine of the 14 on his own to help give the home team an early, 16-6 edge with 15:48 remaining in the first half.
 
The visitors used a 6-2 spurt to make it a two-possession game, but Morris followed with his first layup of the season, igniting an 11-0 run that was highlighted by a three from Mincey to extend the buffer to 29-12 at 8:49. The River Hawks went to work from the foul line in the latter part of the period, making 11 free throws, before Brooks hit a bucket and Hikim beat the buzzer with a finger roll to send his team into the locker room with a 50-27 advantage.
 
Hikim started things after the break with five straight points, as UMass Lowell scored 15 of the first 17 in the second half. A block in three-point territory from Brooks led to a fast-break on the other end by Morris, who went onto score seven in a row to make it 74-32 with 12:36 still to play.
 
Junior Andres Fulgencio (Englewood, N.J.) added a pair of buckets and Mincey chipped in with five points of his own before junior Xzavier Lino (Phoenix, Ariz.) entered his first game as a River Hawk and sunk a three to give the squad its largest lead of the night, 88-41, at 6:03.
 
The River Hawks now head out on a six-game road swing beginning on Friday, November 10 at Dartmouth. Tipoff for that contest is scheduled for 6 p.m.