BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior Angel Montas Jr. (La Romana, D.R.) finished with 20 points, as the No. 4 UMass Lowell men's basketball team (15-18) fell, 91-69, at No. 1 UMBC (23-8) in the semifinal round of the 2026 Air Force Reserve America East Playoffs on Tuesday evening.
 
"UMBC is the best team in the league from my perspective," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "We tried to make some adjustments, but they can score on us. I think matchup-wise, it's just a tough game for us, so credit to them. They are a good basketball team, so no shame at all with my team and I just told them that. This is my 13^th year and we've been fortunate to have a ton of success, but believe it or not, this was my most rewarding, enjoyable season. This team stuck together, liked each other, so that made it fun for me to come every day. They've brought out the best in me."
 
A total of five River Hawks reached double-digit points in the outing. Junior Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass.) added 15 points, while senior Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.), and juniors Xavier Spencer (Calgary, Alberta) and Shawn Simmons II (Philadelphia, Pa.) all chipped in with 11 points apiece. Green paced the team on the boards with 10 rebounds, as well.
 
Simmons II got the River Hawks moving on both ends of the court, opening the game with a block and an off-balanced layup. As the teams traded points in the early minutes, threes from Spencer and Yepdo kept the margin at just one point before another layup from Simmons II gave UMass Lowell a slight, 10-9 edge with 14:58 remaining in the first half.
 
However, the Retrievers answered with an 11-2 run to pull back in front, this time 20-12 at 11:53. Yepdo answered for the River Hawks with a four-point play to make it a two-possession game, but the home side heated up from beyond the arc to tally 15 of the next 17 points to extend the margin to 35-18 with 6:32 to go in the period. Yepdo knocked down a three to spark the River Hawk offense ahead of seven points from Montas Jr. down the stretch, as the visitors trailed 43-29 at the break.
 
The offenses on both sides went right to work coming out of halftime with Montas Jr. and Spencer leading the way for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell limited UMBC to back-to-back buckets just once in the first six minutes of the second half, as Green and Montas Jr. combined for six straight points and Simmons II added a put-back dunk to cut the difference to 60-49 with 14:09 still to go.
 
The River Hawks were within 11 once more before five UMBC points, but Simmons II followed with a step-back trey to make it 68-54 at 10:48. The Retrievers responded with a 13-6 spurt, though, stretching the margin to 81-60 with 4:36 on the clock. Yepdo, Spencer and Montas Jr. scored in the waning minutes of the contest, as UMBC held on for the victory.
 
The River Hawks wrap up the 2025-26 season with a 15-18 overall record.