LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) logged a career-high 26 points to help lift the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (20-7, 11-3 AE) to an 89-67 victory in a physical battle against Bryant (17-12, 9-5 AE) on Thursday evening at Costello Athletic Center.
 
The River Hawks used a strong second half to pull away for the win, outscoring their opponents, 48-32 in the final 20 minutes. With the decision, the team not only secured at least a second-place finish in the regular-season standings, but also secured its second straight, 20-win season and matched the Division I program record for America East wins at 11.
 
"This was a great win against a very talented Bryant team," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "A lot of guys from both teams are from the DMV area, and just seemed to challenge each other and bring out the best. We had a lot of talented players on both teams going at it and a lot of healthy respect from both teams. I thought the home-court crowd was pivotal, especially in the second half, when (Ayinde Hikim) made all those free throws and they really got behind us. That is so huge to the success of our program, now and in the future."
 
Mincey drained a personal-best five, three-point field goals on the night. Senior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) chipped in with 25 points, for his third, 20-point game in four outings. Senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.), who only came out of the game in the final 20 seconds, rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points and added six assists, as well. Senior Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) led the way on the glass with 11 rebounds. As a team, the River Hawks turned in a strong performance from beyond the arc, matching a season high with 11 threes.
 
Brooks won the opening tip and dunked on the first play of the game to start the night off on the right foot. The Bulldogs worked to quickly take the upper hand, though, and led by as many as eight before Covington single-handedly made it a one-possession game with seven of the next nine points. The Bulldogs would stretch the difference back to six, but Covington hit another three, this time from the top of the key in transition, to spark a 19-2 run that included triples from sophomore Brayden O'Connor (Ottawa, Ontario), Mincey and senior Anthony Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) to put the River Hawks in front, 28-17, with 7:06 remaining in the first half.
 
The River Hawks maintained at least a seven-point buffer until Bryant scored eight in a row to make it 33-31 at 2:50. Covington drained a fade-away jumper ahead of four free throws from Mincey and a layup from Hikim to close out the first-half scoring for his side and send the home team into the locker room up, 41-35.
 
Covington started the second with another triple and tallied the team's only other two field goals in the first five minutes to keep his team on top, as the Bulldogs cut the difference to just two, 46-44, with 15:29 to go. However, the River Hawk offense turned up the pressure and scored 13 straight, taking advantage of their opportunities at the foul line thanks to three Bryant technical fouls in less than a minute leading to seven straight free throws to make it 59-44 at 11:54.
 
The teams traded points for the next several minutes until Brooks converted at the line and junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) followed with a three from the corner. Mincey laid one in and Covington knocked down another trey before O'Connor and Hikim sunk back-to-back layups to give the River Hawks an 82-63 advantage with just over four minutes to go. Covington and Mincey then closed out the scoring for the home team with seven more points to seal the outcome.
 
The River Hawks now close out the regular season with two more road games beginning at Vermont on Saturday, March 2 at 3 p.m.