LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass.) registered 17 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-2) dropped a hard-fought, 73-67 decision against New Haven (1-3) on Monday evening at Kennedy Family Athletic Complex.
 
The game was a battle the whole way, featuring 15 lead changes until the Chargers took the lead for good with just over three minutes left to go.
 
"Obviously, this is a disappointing loss at home in front of a good crowd," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought we played well in the first half. We defended well, and even into the second half, it felt like we were still in control of the game. Then, just self-inflicted mistakes from that point. Instead of playing solid, good, tough defense, we were reaching and putting ourselves out of position and fouling. A couple of one-on-one individual moves, instead of using the offense, kind of coincided during that same time where I thought New Haven regained control of the game and we never got it back. We have to be a little bit more disciplined and realize the defense is what gave us the lead in the first half and just stick with it in the second half."
 
Yepdo finished the night with three three-pointers made. Freshman JJ Massaquoi (Prince George's County, Md.) added to the offense with 16 points, including eight free throws. Junior Xavier Spencer (Calgary, Alberta) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points on the night, while classmate Shawn Simmons II (Phildelphia, Pa.) led the way on the glass with eight rebounds.  
 
The River Hawks won the opening tip and scored the first four points of the night, including a jumper from Yepdo, and although New Haven worked its way in front for a one-point lead, back-to-back layups from Massaquoi put his squad back on top, 10-5, with 16:18 remaining in the first half.
 
The Chargers retaliated with a 9-3 spurt to tilt the board back in their favor, but junior Jared Frey (Columbus, Ohio) converted at the line to give the home side a 15-14 edge at 11:18. The visitors then sunk consecutive threes to create a five-point edge before the River Hawks went on an 8-1 run that was capped off by buckets from redshirt-freshman Isaiah Walter (Central Coast, Australia) and senior Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.) to build a 23-21 margin with less than eight minutes on the clock. New Haven kept the back-and-forth battle going, this time with eight of the next 10 points, but UMass Lowell closed the half with 10 straight points, including a pair of threes from Yepdo, to take a 37-30 buffer into the locker room.
 
The teams traded points coming out of the break, as a three from Spencer and a one-handed slam from Simmons II helped the home side maintain at least a five-point margin until the Chargers scored five in a row. However, Green sunk a jumper and Spencer drained a three to make it 47-39 with 13:14 left to play.
 
New Haven followed with nine unanswered points, though, to regain the upper hand, 48-47, halfway through the second. Five quick lead changes ensued before the Chargers scored seven straight points to take a 61-55 advantage at 6:03. The River Hawks kept fighting, using three points each from Massaquoi and junior Khalil Farmer (Philadelphia, Pa.) to make it a one-possession game before Yepdo recorded five straight points to put the home team on top, 66-65, with less than four minutes to go. However, the Chargers used an 8-1 run in the final minutes to take the lead for good and seal the 73-67 outcome.
 
The River Hawks now head out on a five-game road trip that begins at Columbia of the Ivy League on Thursday, November 13. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 7 p.m.