ORONO, MAINE –  Fifth year Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) tallied a game-high 26 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (17-14, 6-10 AE) fell to the Maine Black Bears (18-13, 10-6 AE), 71-70, in the regular season finale on Tuesday night.

Tied with just under three minutes to play, Maine's Jaden Clayton sank a layup to put his team in front before fifth year Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) threw down a monstrous dunk to even the score, followed by Mincey's tenth basket of the night, putting the River Hawks in front with 1:25 to play. However, the Black Bears sank a basket with 59 seconds to play, knotting the score up at 70-70, before a free throw in the final seconds sealed the 71-70 decision.

Mincey, who went 4-6 from deep, was one of five River Hawks to record double-digits. Senior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) added 12 points and nine rebounds, with freshman Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) matching him with 12 points, as well. Brooks and Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) rounded things out, each chipping in with 10 points.  

The River Hawks got to work immediately, jumping out to a 6-2 lead thanks to buckets from Brooks, Covington, and Morris. After a pair of points by both sides kept it a four-point difference, the Black Bears found their rhythm, scoring eight of ten points, with the two points for UMass Lowell coming off a Brooks layup, to take the lead, 12-10 at 12:21. However, just under three minutes later, with the score the same, Somerville sank a pair from the line to knot it up.

The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the first half, with Maine tallying the next five points to regain the lead. The visitors refused to let them pull away, though, going on a 7-2 stretch, capped off by a deep trey from Mincey, to once again even the score, this time at 19-19 with just over six minutes on the clock. Although the Black Bears scored the next four, Morris III and Somerville sank back-to-back triples to counter for the River Hawks, before the hosts scored six of the half's final eight points to take a slight lead, 29-27, into the break.

Both sides traded baskets to start the second half, with the opposition using a 10-9 edge to extend their lead to three with 15:23 on the clock. The River Hawks responded with haste, using an 8-0 burst in just over a minute to snatch the lead, 44-39. Despite the Black Bears answering with a triple, UMass Lowell continued its hot stretch, tallying nine of the next 14 points, including five from Mincey, to take its largest lead of the night, 53-47, midway through the closing half.

Looking to jump back in front, the hosts connected from deep before sinking a trio of free throws, evening the score. The teams continued to trade baskets before Mincey and Brooks sank back-to-back buckets to knot the score up at 66-66 with 2:58 on the clock, setting up the last-minute finish.

Next up, the River Hawks will hit the road for the Quarterfinals of the 2025 America East Men's Basketball Playoffs on Saturday, March 8, for a rematch with Maine. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Memorial Gymnasium in Orono.