LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) led three, 20-point scorers with a game-high 22 points to lift the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (18-7, 9-3 AE) to an 87-80 victory against Binghamton (12-14, 4-9 AE) on Thursday evening at Costello Athletic Center.
 
"We were glad to get another win and be back on our home floor in Costello," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "As a team, we didn't give up any three-point shots in the second half, which we talked about at halftime. We got seven or eight offensive rebounds, which we talked about at halftime, and we made our free throws. I think that's how we won in a game that I don't think we played as well as we're capable, but against a team that's very good and well-coached."
 
Covington drained four, three-point field goals for the second consecutive game to help the team log a conference season-high nine on the night. Classmates Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) and Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) each added 20 points, marking the first time the River Hawks have had three 20-point scorers in a game since 2017. Mincey, who also finished with four threes, shot 67% from long range, while Brooks went a career-best 10-for-10 from the foul line with 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year. Additionally, senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) distributed the ball well, collecting six assists. As a team, taking advantage of free opportunities was key, as UMass Lowell shot 90% (28-31) on free throws in the outing.
 
Brooks laid in the first bucket of the night to get things started, and although Tymu Chenery gave the Bearcats an early advantage, a trio of triples from sophomore Brayden O'Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) and Covington created a 13-7 lead for the home team with 15:27 remaining in the first half. However, Binghamton responded with a 13-2 spurt to regain the upper hand halfway through the period.
 
Covington snapped almost four minutes without a River Hawk field goal when junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) found him open driving towards the hoop. Mincey would add a pair of threes to make it a two-point game before Morris III and Hikim knocked down buckets of their own to even the board, 27-27, at 5:44. Less than three minutes later, five straight points from Morris III and Covington forced another stalemate, this time at 34-34, before Mincey scored four of the last six points of the half to put UMass Lowell on top, 38-36, at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Brooks once again tallied the opening points. The teams then traded buckets, as the Bearcats cut the difference to just two on four occasions before Mincey scored four in a row to ignite a 16-4 run that included five points from Covington, stretching the lead to double-digits for the first time at 62-48 with 11:20 left to play.
 
The Bearcats did not back down and would use a 9-1 burst to close the gap to five with just over seven minutes on the clock. The River Hawks responded with another trey from Mincey, free throws from Brooks and a well-executed putback from O'Connor to retake a double-digit buffer, 76-66. Binghamton used back-to-back baskets to pull within four with 2:36 to go, but the home team took care of business at the foul line, helping to score nine of the last 11 points in the 87-80 victory.
 
The River Hawks stay at home this weekend when UAlbany comes to town on Saturday, February 24. Tipoff for that Alumni Day game is scheduled for 1 p.m.