LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led four, double-digit scorers with 12 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (7-4) faced a 57-54 setback against Central Connecticut State (4-6) at the Tsongas Center on Saturday evening.
 
In a game that featured seven lead changes, the teams were knotted at 54-54 when Mincey hit a floater with eight seconds left on the clock. However, the Blue Devils' Jordan Jones hit a corner three on the other end with three seconds to go for the game-winner. The decision snapped a 20-game home win streak, which had ranked second longest in the country.
 
"This wasn't one of our better performances, so it's disappointing," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It's a tough way to lose a really hard-earned, 20-game win streak that we've fought for the last year and a half. We didn't think we would lose it this way. We didn't play good, especially on the offensive end. We can be really good, as we've seen this year, but when everybody is off at the same time, we can be beat on our home floor. How we respond is the most important thing. We need to learn from this and get better."
 
Senior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) added to the offense with 11 points, while senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 10 points. Junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) finished with 10 points, as well, in addition to a team-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
 
Both teams used the early minutes to find their footing and were even, 4-4, four minutes into play. Hikim converted on an and-1 and sunk a trey from the corner just after a Morris III layup to help create a 12-6 edge with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
The River Hawks stretched their lead to as many as eight thanks to a bucket from Mincey and free throws from senior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.), but the Blue Devils strung together 16 straight points, including three, three-point field goals, to take the upper hand, 27-19, at 3:34. Covington snapped an almost seven-minute scoring drought for the home team with a jumper from the paint before Mincey and Morris III closed the half with buckets of their own to cut the difference to 31-25 at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawk defense locked down, getting a huge block from Morris III and forcing a shot-clock violation that led to a massive Brooks dunk on the other end to make it a four-point game. CCSU led by as many as six once more, but the River Hawks fired back with a 10-2 run that was capped off by consecutive threes from Covington and sophomore Brayden O'Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) to put UMass Lowell back on top, 39-37, with 11:17 left to play.
 
Three lead changes followed before Mincey evened the board at 42-42. The visitors responded with eight straight points, but Mincey turned the momentum back in favor of the River Hawks with a three from the top of the key, igniting a 10-2 River Hawk run that ended with a free throw from Morris III to force a 52-52 stalemate and set up the tight finish.
 
The River Hawks have one more non-conference road game this season, as they head to Boston University for a 12 p.m. tilt on Friday, December 22.