LOWELL, Mass. – Four double-digit scorers led the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (19-6, 7-4 AE) to a 90-61 victory against America East foe NJIT at Costello Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Junior Max Brooks paced the squad on both sides of the floor with 18 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) added 17 points and seven rebounds of his own with four assists. Graduate student Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) and senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) each chipped in with 16 and 13 points, respectively, as well. As a team, UMass Lowell shot 54.7% from the field and drained eight threes to improve to 12-0 when making at least seven triples this season.
 
With the win, the River Hawks extend their perfect home record to 13-0 in 2022-23.
 
"I'm really happy with the win," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought it was a good crowd despite the ridiculously cold conditions outside. That always helps us and our guys are appreciative of it. Obviously, we've played well at home and our crowd is part of that, and hopefully we can continue to let that grow. We had a lot of great efforts from all of our guys on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the last two games have been the best we've played. We've been the most locked in, the most consistent and the most disciplined, and that's why we've gotten out to big leads. This game, I thought we were able to close out earlier, rather than letting them get back into it."
 
The Highlanders scored three straight buckets to open the game before the River Hawk offense quickly settled, accounting for the next 11 points with back-to-back threes from graduate student Mikey Watkins (Roselle, N.J.) and Hammond, to take their first lead of the afternoon. Raheim Sullivan worked to make it a one-possession game for the visitors, but Coulibaly would complete an and-1 to spark a 12-0 run for the River Hawks that was highlighted by Brooks, who sunk a three ball and a dunk and added pair of blocks on the other end of the floor to help create a 28-13 edge with 6:45 remaining in the first half.
 
NJIT would cut the difference to 10 on two occasions in the waning minutes, including at 30-20 with just over three minutes left in the period. However, the home team outscored their opponent 11-5 down the stretch to pull away, 41-25, at the break.
 
Hammond charged the River Hawk offense coming out of halftime, opening the second with an and-1 and a trey that ignited a string of 13 unanswered, extending the margin to 59-29 with 15:09 still to go.
 
The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, as the River Hawks kept the pressure on. A layup from junior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) followed by a dunk from Brooks gave the River Hawks their largest lead of the night, 82-49, at 4:01.
 
The River Hawks now head out on their longest road trip of the season, beginning at Hartford on Monday, February 6 at 6 p.m.