LOWELL, Mass. – Fifth year Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) totaled 24 points and nine rebounds, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (16-13, 5-9 AE) dropped a 79-78 heartbreaker to Bryant (18-11, 12-2 AE) at Costello Athletic Center on Thursday evening.
 
Fifth year Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) spun away from the defense and floated in a bucket with four seconds left in the contest, but free throws were awarded as time expired, allowing Bryant's Earl Timberlake to sink both and earn the outcome in a game that featured 19 lead changes.
 
"That's as tough a loss as I've endured during my time here," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It was a great college basketball game between two very good teams. Obviously, Bryant is in first place. Both teams battled back-and-forth. This was probably the best game we've played all year, so I'm happy about that. We shared the ball on offense, we found the open guy, we were tough enough on defense to make enough plays, and we knew their personnel and guarded them effectively. Our guys deserved to win the game, so I feel terrible for them, but we've got to take the good out of it and take that into Saturday."
 
Freshman Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) chipped in with 17 points and five assists. Fifth year Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Mincey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Senior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) tallied the first points of the night, and although Bryant followed with a three, the River Hawks added back-to-back buckets, including a fast-break dunk by Covington, to take a one-possession edge in the opening minutes. The defense stalled the scoring, as neither squad logged a field goal for more than three minutes, but after the Bulldogs evened the board for the first time in the outing, the River Hawks responded with a trio of triples from Mincey and Somerville to pull ahead, 15-8, with 12:06 remaining in the first half.
 
The River Hawks maintained at least a one-point lead until the visitors scored five in a row to go up, 22-21, at 8:17. Two lead changes followed before Covington sank a trey to spark a 7-2 spurt that gave UMass Lowell a 32-29 advantage with 4:28 to go. The back-and-forth battle continued, as the teams were tied twice down the stretch, but four straight free throws from Mincey and a driving layup from Brooks in the waning seconds helped the home team take a 42-39 buffer into the break.
 
Covington started the second half with a bucket, and although a 5-1 Bryant run made it a one-point game once again, the River Hawks combined for an 8-2 spurt to pull away, 53-46, with 14:35 left to play. A pair of Bulldog threes over the next four minutes cut the difference to just three, but consecutive layups by Brooks gave UMass Lowell a 59-52 margin at 10:51.
 
Bryant used a 13-5 run to take the upper hand, 65-64, with 6:18 still to go. Three lead changes followed before the visitors knotted the score, 72-72, at 2:54. Baskets from Covington and Brooks bookended three points from the opponents to jump back in front with less than a minute to go. Rafael Pinzon would hit the Bulldogs' final field goal, setting up Mincey's go ahead bucket and the finish at buzzer.
 
The River Hawks wrap up their home slate on Saturday, March 1 when they will celebrate Senior Day against Binghamton. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.