LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) matched a personal-best with 27 points to help lift the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (2-0) to an 81-74 victory against Saint Peter's (0-2) on Friday evening at Costello Athletic Center.
 
"This was a hard-fought win against a tough team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year and returned a good group of their core," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "So I thought it was a good win, a little sloppy at times, but we didn't back down, we played aggressive and scored 81 points against a good team. I don't think they are going to give up 81 points very often. We can win in a lot of different ways, so if that's how you want to play, we'll shoot free throws and show you that we can win that way. And to win against this team with both of our big guys in foul trouble, a lot of other guys stepped up, so I'm happy about that."
 
As a team, the River Hawks shot 27-for-32 (84.4%) from the foul line, paced by Mincey, who went 14-for-16 at the charity stripe. Fifth year Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and senior Quincy Clark (Columbus, Ohio) finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively, to round out the double-digit scorers. Clark also added a game- and season-high seven assists, while fifth year Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) grabbed eight rebounds.
 
Mincey opened the River Hawk scoring with a corner three before Clark scored in transition and senior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) hit a long two to build an early lead. Although the Peacocks were able to knot the score just over five minutes into play, the River Hawk defense locked in, while Covington sunk a three and Mincey added free throws to put the home side on top, 12-7, with 11:15 remaining in the first half.
 
Minutes later, back-to-back layups from Morris III and fifth year Mekhi Gray (Melrose, N.Y.) gave UMass Lowell a six point buffer, it's largest lead yet, but Saint Peter's responded with an 8-2 spurt to even the board, 20-20, at 5:55. Morris III then drained the go-ahead layup and despite the visitors pulling within one down the stretch, senior Xzavier Lino (Phoenix, Ariz.) knocked down his second three from the top of the key and Clark floated in a fast-break layup to help the River Hawks score the last eight points of the half and take a 37-28 advantage at the break.
 
UMass Lowell carried the momentum into the second half, scoring the first six points of the period, including a full-court, steal-turned-layup by Clark. However, the Peacocks followed with a 12-2 run to cut the difference to 45-40 with 13:32 left to play.
 
Brooks pushed his way to the hoop hard through traffic for an and-1, and after Saint Peter's closed the gap to five, the River Hawks scored six of the next eight points, including a trey from freshman Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) to stretch the lead to 54-45 at 11:04.
 
Less than two minutes later, the River Hawks put together a 10-2 run, highlighted by eight points from Covington to make it 64-50 with less than seven minutes on the clock. Saint Peter's continued to battle and were able to pull within four, 70-66, on a three ball from Mouhamed Sow at 2:29. Mincey came through, though, with six points to keep his team on top, allowing UMass Lowell to close out the 81-74 win at the foul line.
 
The River Hawks will now head out west for a pair of games beginning at No. 6 Gonzaga on Friday, November 15. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 9 p.m. ET.