ORONO, Maine – Junior Angel Montas Jr. (La Romana, D.R.) finished with a career-high 33 points, as the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (14-17, 9-7 AE) wrapped up the regular season with a 67-56 victory over the Maine Black Bears (8-23, 6-10 AE) on Tuesday night.

"It was a good team win, a lot of guys contributed," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "Obviously Angel was really good in the first half, and then I thought everyone was really good in the second half. We hit a little bit of a road bump there against the zone, but our guys played well, it was a good road win. We were without our star center Austin Green, so happy to get this road win."

Montas Jr., who also added four rebounds and three assists, shot 70% (14-20) from the field in the contest. Freshman Victor Okojie (Castlebar, Ireland) dominated on the boards, finishing with 11 points alongside 14 rebounds for his third career double-double. As a team, the River Hawks outrebounded Maine, 43-34, including a 16-6 difference on the offensive glass.  

Despite the Black Bears recording the first two baskets of the game, the River Hawks quickly found their footing, as juniors Xavier Spencer (Calgary, Alberta), Shawn Simmons II (Philadelphia, Pa.), and Montas Jr. all added buckets, giving their squad an early 6-4 lead. The two sides went back-and-forth, with Montas Jr. knocking down two jumpers, and although Maine made it a one-point game with 13:29 on the clock, three more baskets by Montas Jr. put his team in front 16-9 just past the midway point of the first.

Looking to counter, the hosts used a 7-4 burst to cut the deficit to four, but freshman JJ Massaquoi (Prince George's County, Md.) was quick to prevent the opposition from gaining momentum, driving into the paint and converting on both ends of an and-1 with just over six to play. Building on their lead, the River Hawks scored five of the next seven points, and after Maine knocked down a three, junior Jared Frey (Columbus, Ohio) countered with a triple of his own to keep the 10-point lead with 2:27 to go. In the final minutes, both sides exchanged shots, with UMass Lowell keeping a 35-26 lead heading into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks picked up where they left off, as Okojie knocked down the free throw on an and-1 and Montas Jr. drilled a three-ball to give the visitors a double-digit lead, 41-31. The Black Bears refused to back down, though, as they used an 8-4 stretch, interrupted by Dunks from Okojie and Simmons II, to make it a two-possession game. UMass Lowell responded with haste, as Montas Jr. went on a personal 5-0 run, before Massaquoi added four of his own after two Maine free throws, to give the squad their largest lead yet, 54-41, with under 11 minutes to go.

With time winding down, the River Hawks locked down on defense, not allowing a basket for nearly ten minutes, while also holding the Black Bears to only one point over the next six minutes of action. Meanwhile, Montas Jr. poured in four more points, and Okojie added a layup, to put UMass Lowell in front, 60-42, with 5:05 to play. In the final five minutes, the Black Bears made a comeback attempt, scoring the next ten points of the game, but the visitors stood strong, outscoring the opposition 7-4 in the final two minutes, sealing the 67-56 victory.

Next up, the River Hawks return home for the first round of the America East Playoffs on Saturday, March 7 when they host the UAlbany Great Danes. Game time is to be determined.