LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) logged a game-high 20 points as one of seven, double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (6-2) in a 117-69 win against Fisher (6-3) on Tuesday evening.
 
"More than anything, it was great to be home, where we had so much success a year ago," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It feels like forever since we've been here, coming off a six-game road trip, which I thought our guys battled during and played well. We put up a lot of points, it was that type of game with a ton of possessions. We had a lot of good efforts and it was good to see some guys, who haven't had a chance to play but have played important roles in our program, get in the game and have some success."
 
Hikim added eight assists in his fifth, 20-point game of the year. Senior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, while Yuri Covington added the first of his career with 12 points and a personal-best 12 rebounds. Junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) also added 12 points, followed by freshman Anthony Maxwell (Montreal, Quebec), who posted a season-best 11 points of his own. Sophomore Brayden O'Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, as well.
 
In their first home game in a month, the performance marked the most points in a single game for the River Hawks since 1995 (133, vs. Assumption). As a team, UMass Lowell combined for 55 rebounds and shot 61.8% (47-76) from the field. The outing also marked the first game with seven scorers in double figures for the team since 2021.
 
Although the Falcons tallied the first bucket of the night, the River Hawks quickly settled in, as Covington drilled a corner three and Morris followed with four straight points of his own to spark 10 unanswered for the home team. The visitors were able to cut it to a two-possession difference once more, but four different River Hawks scored on consecutive trips down the court to put their side up, 18-4, with 13:33 remaining in the first half.
 
Later in the period, junior Andres Fulgencio (Englewood, N.J.) and Maxwell added a spark off the bench with back-to-back buckets, including a spinning steal and fastbreak bucket on the other end by the rookie, making it 29-9 at 8:17. Brooks then ignited a 12-1 run with a pair of layups to give his squad a 41-12 edge, and although the teams traded buckets down the stretch, Brooks closed the half with another two points to send the home team into the locker room up, 51-23.
 
The River Hawks started the second with the hot hand, as Hikim and O'Connor combined for three consecutive treys and Morris followed with back-to-back dunks to stretch the difference to 64-23 with 17:23 left on the clock.  Six points from Brooks then bookended another triple from Hikim before Covington scored five in a row to give UMass Lowell an 80-34 advantage at 12:53.
 
The Falcons responded with 10 of the next 13 points, but junior Xzavier Lino (Phoenix, Ariz.) helped take back the momentum with two field goals. In the waning minutes, Maxwell completed a three-point play to ignite an 11-0 spurt that included a pretty, step-back jumper from junior Jordan Thompson (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and an alley-oop dunk from Thompson to Fulgencio to seal the outcome.
 
The River Hawks are right back on the road now, as they head to in-state rival Massachusetts for the Kennedy Cup matchup on Saturday, December 9 at 12 p.m.