BURLINGTON, Vt. – Senior Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.) paced his team with 16 points and 14 rebounds, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (13-16, 8-6 AE) fell in the final seconds to the Vermont Catamounts (19-11, 11-4 AE), 66-64, on Thursday night.

"Vermont made a couple of timely threes at the end to pull out a hard-fought win," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I thought our guys played really well in a tough environment. I'm proud of them."

Green, who added three assists and a block, was one of four River Hawks to finish with double-digit points. Right behind him, junior Angel Montas Jr. (La Romana, D.R.) added 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while junior Xavier Spencer (Calgary, Alberta) chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. Rounding things out, junior Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass.) finished with 11 points and three rebounds.

The River Hawks wasted no time getting to work, scoring the first four points of the game, two each from Montas Jr. and Spencer, to own a 4-0 lead just over a minute in. Although the Catamounts responded fast with three of their own, a 6-2 stretch for UMass Lowell pushed the visitors' lead to five with 14:42 on the clock. Vermont started to find its rhythm, though, using an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the night, 16-12, before a layup by Green cut the deficit to two midway through the first.

After a layup by the hosts once again made it a two-possession difference, UMass Lowell took over, scoring nine of the next 12 points, highlighted by five from Spencer, to jump back in front, 23-21, with 6:10 on the clock. The Catamounts quickly fired back with a layup to even the score, but five straight from the River Hawks, including a three-pointer from Montas Jr., created a five-point buffer. Vermont, however, ended the first half strong, scoring 11 of the next 13, interrupted by a layup by junior Khalil Farmer (Philadelphia, Pa.), to take a 34-30 lead into halftime.

Yepdo came out firing out of the break, drilling a triple before adding a layup moments later to keep his squad within one. Though Vermont used a 7-2 stretch to own a 43-37 lead, UMass Lowell put together its best stretch of the night, not allowing a point for over six minutes as part of an 11-0 scoring run, highlighted by six points from Montas Jr., to earn a 48-43 advantage with 10:21 to play.

The back-and-forth battle continued, and after each side added eight points to keep the five-point difference, the hosts used a 5-0 burst to knot the game up at 56-56 with four minutes to play. The River Hawks refused to back down, as they racked up seven of the next nine points, capped off by a fast break bucket by Yepdo to regain a five-point edge with just over two minutes to go. In the final minutes, the Catamounts battled back, using a pair of threes and a basket in the final seconds to seal the 66-64 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks return home for their final home game of the regular season when they host the UMBC Retrievers on Saturday, February 28. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Kennedy Family Athletic Center.