BURLINGTON, Vt. – Fifth year Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) recorded team bests of 20 points and seven rebounds, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (16-12, 5-8 AE) faced an 85-61 setback at Vermont (17-11, 10-3 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
 
"This was a tough loss tonight for us," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I never thought we were really in the game after getting off to a bad start. Vermont is playing at a high level right now."
 
Freshman Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) chipped in with 11 points and four steals. Fifth year Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) added nine points, as well.
 
Mincey floated in the first two points of the contest for the River Hawks, but the Catamounts quickly jumped out to a double-digit edge. Senior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) and Mincey would cut into the difference with jumpers, and although the Catamounts built an 11-point buffer, Morris III then hit a triple to pull within nine, 18-9, with 11:45 remaining in the first half.
 
A pair of threes helped the home team stretch the margin to 13 two minutes later before senior Xzavier Lino (Phoenix, Ariz.) sparked an 8-2 run that included threes from fifth year Anthony Blunt (Glen Dale, Md.) and Mincey to pull within seven, 26-19, at 7:31. However, the Catamounts responded, grabbing 10 of the next 13 points to stretch the buffer to 36-22 with less than two minutes to play in the period. Somerville tallied a second-chance layup and Mincey fought through traffic for two of his own in the waning seconds, as UVM took a 41-26 advantage into the break.
 
The Catamounts tallied 12 of the first 14 points after halftime. Fifth year Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) sunk a jumper for the River Hawks' first field goal of the second, sparking an 8-2 spurt to make it 55-36 with 13 minutes to go. The River Hawks continued to knock down free throws, but their next field goal would not come for almost six minutes, as Vermont pulled away, 71-42.
 
Covington snapped the silence with back-to-back treys, and although the home side retaliated with seven consecutive points, Somerville would follow with a three of his own and fifth year Caleb Murphy (Atlanta, Ga.) drained free throws to make it 78-53 with 2:57 to go. The teams traded buckets in the final minutes with last threes from Somerville and Mincey, and a dunk from Murphy en route to the 85-61 outcome.
 
The River Hawks are back in action on Thursday, February 27 when they host Bryant at 6 p.m.