SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In a tightly-contested battle that featured 15 tied scores, senior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 27 points to help propel the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (17-7, 8-3 AE) to a thrilling, 86-77 victory at America East foe Bryant (17-10, 9-3 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth the whole way with 10 lead changes on top of the 15 stalemates. The teams were even for the final time at 75-75 with 2:26 left on the clock. Free throws from sophomore Brayden O'Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) and senior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) put the visitors up for good, and despite an Earl Timberlake layup making it a one-point game at 78-77, senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) responded with one of his own before running the full length of the court on the next possession to set up senior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) for the final field goal of the contest, giving the River Hawks the breathing room needed to seal the decision.
 
"This was another great road win for our team against an extremely talented Bryant squad," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We had lots of great efforts, and huge composure and execution down the stretch."
 
Hikim added 21 points in the contest, while O'Connor rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Mincey registered a game-high 11 rebounds, while Brooks finished with four assists and four blocks. The River Hawks shot 46.8% (29-62) from the field and took a 41-33 rebounding margin.
 
Hikim started off the scoring for either side with a jumper, and although Bryant led by as many as four in the opening minutes, back-to-back triples from Hikim and Covington ignited a 10-0 run that gave the River Hawks a 14-8 advantage with 13:41 remaining in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs responded with a 14-2 stretch of their own to retake the upper hand, 22-16, at 8:38. Threes from O'Connor bookended layups from Brooks and Covington, as UMass Lowell worked to erase the difference and knot it up at 26-26 with less than five minutes to go in the period. The River Hawks tied it twice more before four straight points from Covington put the visitors back on top, 37-35 at 1:22. Hikim drove to the hoop in the waning seconds, and even with two final free throws from Bryant, the River Hawks were able to take a 39-37 advantage into the break.
 
Morris III hit a bucket and a free throw coming out of halftime, but eight consecutive Bryant points gave the home team it's largest lead yet, 50-43, with 15:57 still to play. Hikim snapped over six minutes without a field goal from the River Hawks, sparking a string of 10 unanswered points, including eight in a row from Covington to put the visitors ahead, 56-52, at 11:36.
 
The squads were tied three more times until Covington came through again with another trey and Mincey sunk a layup to make it 65-60 with less than seven minutes to go. However, Bryant would continue to battle and even the board once again at 68-68 less than two minutes later. The fast-pace continued with the score deadlocked three more times, setting up the exciting finish down the stretch.
 
The River Hawks are now back home on Thursday, February 22 when they host Binghamton in their Black History Month game at 6:30 p.m.