LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Xavier Spencer (Calgary, Alberta) logged a career-high 23 points to help lift the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (6-10, 1-0 AE) to an 83-71 victory against UAlbany (4-12, 0-1 AE) in the 2026 America East Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Kennedy Family Athletic Complex.
 
"Great opening night for conference play with a good atmosphere," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought we controlled the game pretty much from start to finish, although it got a little more interesting than I would have liked it to in the last few minutes, but we were in control. We played great, we handled the basketball, we shared the ball. We fought through a tough non-conference schedule and a challenging last road trip and we had a great first America East game. I'm happy for my guys. We still have to get better down the stretch, handling the press, but other than that, great team effort for us."
 
Spencer knocked down at personal-best nine field goals in the performance and a team-high five assists. Junior Angel Montas Jr. (La Romana, D.R.) added 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 points and two blocks. As a team, the River Hawks shot 49% from the field, including 56% in the second half. The home team also outrebounded the opposition, 42-29 in the outing.
 
Junior Shawn Simmons II (Philadelphia, Pa.) went over a defender for a one-handed slam to open the scoring and boost the energy just seconds into the contest. Green followed with a bucket of his own, and although the Great Danes tallied the next eight points, Spencer retaliated with back-to-back jumpers to jump start a 10-2 run that put the River Hawks on top, 14-10, with 12:55 remaining in the first half.
 
UAlbany would quickly even the board twice, but UMass Lowell followed with nine unanswered points, including threes from Spencer and freshman Victor Okojie (Castlebar, Ireland), in a three-minute span to take a 26-17 edge at 7:54. The visitors cut into the difference with six of the next seven points before Montas Jr. scored five in a row in transition to make it 32-23 at the three-minute mark in the first. Simmons II and Green then each added a layup down the stretch to send the home team into the locker room with a 36-28 advantage.
 
The River Hawks dialed up the pressure even further coming out of the break, starting the second half on a 14-2 run that was capped off by a pair of enthusiastic and-1s from Spencer and Green, stretching the buffer to 50-30, with 15:32 still to play. Despite the Great Danes pulling within 18 on three occasions, freshman JJ Massaquoi (Prince George's County, Md.) and Okojie would combine for six straight points, as Okojie hit a fast-break three after a block on the other end to help take a 61-37 lead at 10:50.
 
The teams traded baskets, as the visitors worked to chip away with a 27-14 run over the next eight minutes to close the gap to 75-64 with three minutes to go. Spencer converted at the line and Montas Jr. banked in a layup to maintain a double-digit buffer, but a pair of late threes put the Great Danes within eight, 79-71, with 52 seconds on the clock. However, Yepdo went 4-for-4 at the line and secured a last second steal to seal the 83-71 victory.
 
Next up, the River Hawks play a pair of conference road games beginning on Thursday, January 8 at Bryant. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.