LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) registered a game-high 19 points to lift the No. 2 seeded UMass Lowell men's basketball team (26-7) to a thrilling, 75-64 victory against No. 3 New Hampshire (15-15) in the semifinal round of the 2023 Jersey Mike's America East Playoffs in front of a capacity crowd at Costello Athletic Center on Tuesday.
 
The suspenseful matchup kept the rowdy crowd on its feet from start to finish with 11 lead changes and 11 tied scores. The board was even an astounding eight times in the second half alone, including for the final time at 54-54 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) would make the layup that gave his side the upper hand for good. Freshman Brayden O'Conner (Ottawa, Ontario) then followed with an and-one and junior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) added a huge tip-in dunk to put UMass Lowell ahead, 61-57, at 7:51. The Wildcats were back within a bucket twice down the stretch, although Hammond hit a timely layup and Blunt drained a clutch three with just over a minute to go to help seal the decision.
 
"This was the best atmosphere in my 10 years hands down at Costello Gym," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "What a crowd and we needed it today. UNH played great. They came here determined, physical and tough, but our guys responded each and every time. Our seniors were huge and in games like this, you need your seniors to be big. They know the clock is ticking and they know what's at stake. They stepped up and were huge tonight, and really provided a lot of leadership. I'm proud of all our guys, we've had a milestone year in a lot of ways, and now we're one game away. We're right where we want to be."
 
With the victory, the River Hawks advance to the league's title game for the second time in three years. The team will head to Burlington to square off against top-seeded Vermont for a chance to win its first America East Championship.
 
Blunt went 7-for-9 from the field in the contest to lead the River Hawk team that shot 51.1% as a unit. Hammond chipped in with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) totaled 14 points.
 
The Wildcats scored the first buckets from the floor, but the River Hawks started perfect from the line ahead of a one-footed, three-point jumper from Hammond to give the home team its first lead of the night. Minutes later, graduate student Mikey Watkins (Roselle, N.J.) floated one in and O'Conner drove hard to the hoop to put the home side back on top, and although New Hampshire evened the board twice, junior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Blunt responded with back-to-back triples to give their squad a 22-17 advantage with 8:17 remaining in the first half.
 
Late in the period, Hikim sparked a 10-3 River Hawk run that was capped off by five points from Blunt to stretch the difference as far as 32-23 at 3:01. However, the Wildcats ended the first on a 10-2 spurt to close the gap to just one, 34-33, as the teams headed for the locker rooms.
 
Hammond knocked down a jumper to start the second, but it was a back-and-forth battle, with the score knotted on six occasions before a big steal and two-handed slam by senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) put the River Hawks in front, 51-49, with 12:25 left to go. Two final stalemates ensued before the resilient ending from UMass Lowell.  
 
The championship game between the No. 2 River Hawks and the No. 1 Vermont Catamounts will tip off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 11 on ESPN2.