LOWELL, Mass. – Fifth year Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led all scorers with 20 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-0) topped Rivier (0-1), 115-59, on Monday evening.
 
"I'm pleased with the opening day win and for the most part with the way we played," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought it was a good crowd, so that's encouraging. Rivier is a much-improved team, they've got some really good players and I'm impressed with how quickly their coach has built that program. I wasn't happy with the start. I thought we gave up some open shots and were a little lackadaisical, but once we got the lead and realized who their good players were, we did a real good job making their looks more difficult and contesting their shots. And then I was really happy with our team when we got a big lead, we continued to play the right way and make the right plays."
 
All 12 River Hawks who entered the game recorded at least one point. Mincey was joined in double figures by fifth year Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), who added 18 points. Freshman Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) chipped in with 17 points in his debut, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Fifth year Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while senior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) added with 11 points and fifth year Anthony Blunt (Gen Dale, Md.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
As a team, the River Hawks shot 59.7% from the field and 52.6% from long range. The home team also took a 59-17 advantage on rebounds.
 
Three different River Hawks scored in the opening two minutes of the new season led by four points from Morris III. Cade O'Darius got the Raiders on the board and helped forced alternating baskets until senior Quincy Clark (Columbus, Ohio) hit a jumper and Mincey added a layup on the next possession to give the River Hawks a double-digit buffer for the first time at 21-11 with 13:32 remaining in the first half.
 
Rivier scored six of the next eight points to make it a two-possession game, but senior Xzavier Lino (Phoenix, Ariz.) and fifth year Mekhi Gray (Montrose, N.Y.) took care of business at the foul line to spark a 12-3 River Hawk run that was highlighted by Somerville's first collegiate trey to help stretch the difference to 35-20 at 8:13. A layup from Blunt and a dunk from Mincey were bookended by visitor threes before Somerville knocked down another triple to spark a string of 10 unanswered points. Brooks and Covington would then score the final points of the period to give the home team a 55-31 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Mincey got the scoring started in the second half and following a Rivier bucket, a two-handed slam from Brooks kicked off a 19-6 UMass Lowell run that included an and-1 from Morris III, a three from Mincey and a second-chance layup from Blunt to make it 76-39 with just over 15 minutes still to play.
 
The River Hawks put together another scoring streak halfway through the period, this time a 17-2 stretch that featured a trio of Somerville threes to help create a 97-45 margin at 8:05. Down the stretch redshirt-freshman Keenan Bey (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Armani Perkins (Brockton, Mass.) registered their first collegiate points, as UMass Lowell cruised to the 115-59 decision.
 
The River Hawks are back in action again at home this Friday, November 8 against St. Peter's at 6 p.m.