UMass Lowell Reaches Championship Game with 79-77 win over UMBC

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Riverhawks head coach, Pat Duquette put it best after the game when he said: “We have become good at the right time.” It may be the only way to explain how UMass Lowell pulled off what they did. Down by as much as 16 points to the Co-America East regular-season champs, the Riverhawks chipped away in the second half. They caught UMBC and then held them off with some great end-of-game defense to advance to their first-ever America East championship game next Saturday morning. They did that by beating UMBC by a 79-77 score. They received a major contribution from sophomore forward Connor Withers who had a game-high 28 points. All nine of his baskets came from three-point land (9-of-13). The nine made three’s ties an America East playoff record for most made threes in a game.

As good as the comeback was, the start was anything but for Lowell. Turnovers would be a major problem for this team. The Riverhawks committed eight in the first half which would lead to 16 UMBC points. When Maryland-Baltimore Country was not scoring off of Riverhawks mistakes, they were getting to the foul line and converting there. UMBC was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Riverhawks would only have the lead once in the opening twenty minutes. It came on the first possession of the game as Obadiah Noel (22 points) made a jumper in the paint off of the opening tip. From there it was all UMBC. A 9-0 run by the home team turned things around in a hurry. The run would be helped out by three Riverhawks turnovers. Eight minutes into the contest, the home team had themselves an eleven-point lead at 20-9. It would become twelve when at the buzzer, Dimitrije Spasojevic made a second-chance layup to give Maryland-Baltimore county a 40-28 halftime lead.

The second half began just like the first did. Noel hit a basket to cut the lead to ten at 40-30. UMBC quickly advanced the lead to 16 on a 7-0 run and it was 49-33 UMBC with 17:25 to play. At this point, it looked like all UMBC had to do was just play the game out. But UMass Lowell had other ideas and began to chip away at the lead. The question was would they have enough time left in the game to get it done. A 7-2 run by Lowell got things started in the right direction for them. Three-point baskets from Withers and Kalil Thomas (10 points) started the comeback. Lowell got the lead down to single digits on a dunk from Max Brooks, who Withers credited with “being a beast.” It was now 61-52 with nine minutes left. A three from L.J. Owens (13 points) returned the lead to double figures at 64-54 with 7:24 to play. A 6-0 run by Lowell on a three by Withers, made free throws from Brooks, and a layup from Noel trimmed the UMBC lead to four at 64-60 with 5:39 to go. The comeback was completed on back-to-back three-point hoops from Withers and Thomas. The game was now tied at 69-69 with 3:43 left.

A quick 5-0 run by UMBC gave them the lead back at 74-69 with 2:42 to go. All five points came from Darnell Rogers (13 points) on a couple of made free throws and a three. Four quick points by UMass Lowell on layups by Noel and Brooks cut the lead to one at 74-73 UMBC. After two made at the line by R.J. Eytle-Rock (18 points), Lowell tied the game once again on another three by Withers. They took the lead on two at the line by Noel with 40 seconds left and the Riverhawks were up by two at 78-76. Eytie-Rock was fouled by Noel and made 1-of-2 at the line to make it a one-point game at 78-77. Withers was fouled by Daniel Akin but he made just one at the line. UMBC had the ball down two with 18 seconds left. Owens had a chance to win the game, but his three at the buzzer would not fall. The miss gave the Riverhawks a spot in the championship game next Saturday morning.

Coach Duquette called the game an “awesome playoff basketball game.” He thought his team learned something from being up 16 last Sunday versus UNH and nearly losing the game in the end. Withers credited the bench “for stepping up and doing their part to give the team a chance.” UMBC head coach Riley Odem was disappointed in the result. He said the team’s first-half defense “was excellent, the second half not so much.” Despite the result, he was proud of his team becoming co-regular season champs. Lowell must wait for the result of the other semi-final game between Hartford and Vermont to find out who they play next weekend. Either way, UMass Lowell will be back on the road again trying to make history by winning four games on the road to make their first-ever NCAA tournament.