UMass Lowell River Hawks Clipped, 67-61, at New Hampshire

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DURHAM, N.H. – Senior Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) notched 12 points, as the UMass Lowell men’s basketball team (10-8, 2-4 AE) came up just short, 67-61, at America East rival New Hampshire (7-6, 2-2 AE) on Saturday.

The outing proved to be a game of runs with 11 lead changes before the home team pulled in front for good halfway through the second.

“UNH was the tougher team tonight,” said Head Coach Pat Duquette. “I thought we played tough for 35 minutes. UNH played tough for 40.”

Blunt was joined in double figures by sophomore Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.), who added 10 points and was a perfect, 2-for-2 from three-point territory. Graduate student Justin Faison (Prince George’s County) dished out three helpers, while senior Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) tallied a team-best six rebounds. As a whole, the River Hawks controlled the glass, outrebounding the Wildcats, 40-37, with a 16-10 advantage on offensive boards.

Neither team was able to take control of the momentum from the start, as the early minutes featured six quick lead changes until sophomore Anthony Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) and Hammond converted on four straight free throws to open an 8-0 run that gave the River Hawks a 20-13 edge with 9:03 remaining in the first.

The home team worked to pull back within a bucket, but points from Allin Blunt and Hammond gave UMass Lowell a two-possession edge, 26-22, at 4:11. However, the Wildcats closed the period with eight unanswered before starting the second with two more to take a 32-26 lead.

Faison and Mincey tilted the board back in favor of the River Hawks, though, heating up from long range and combining for three threes in an 11-4 spurt to regain the upper hand, 39-38, with 14:32 still to go.

The game of streaks continued when UNH responded with 11 points in a row for the first double-digit margin of the afternoon, 49-39, four minutes later. The home squad stretched its advantage as far as 17, but Mincey sunk another triple to ignite a 10-2 run that closed the gap back to 61-52 with less than three minutes on the clock.

The River Hawks continued to battle inside the final two minutes with a bucket from junior Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) and four consecutive free throws from Anthony Blunt, making it a six-point game, but UNH would stave off the comeback in the end.

UMass Lowell now heads back home to host UAlbany on Wednesday, January 26 at 7 p.m.