River Hawks fall to Maine, 75-70

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BANGOR, Maine – Senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali) totaled 16 points as the UMass Lowell men’s basketball team (17-5, 5-3 AE) fell to the Maine Black Bears (8-12, 2-5 AE), 75-70, on Wednesday night.

“We ran into a good and tough Maine team tonight who played well,” said head coach Pat Duquette. “We lacked some mental toughness tonight and need to be a lot more consistent in order to win on the road.”

Alongside leading the team in points, Coulibaly also collected a game-high eight rebounds. Right behind him, graduate student Everette Hammond (Silver Spring, Md.) added 14 points and led the squad with two steals. Rounding out double-digit scorers was graduate student Allin Blunt (Crownsville, Md.) who chipped in 10 points.

Coulibaly dominated in the paint early, scoring seven of the River Hawks’ first 10 points, giving the visitors an early three-point lead. However, the Black Bears quickly erased the deficit, going on a 10-2 burst to jump in front by five. Hammond broke up the hosts’ scoring run with a three, but Maine followed with a 13-4 scoring stretch to take a 30-19 lead, their largest of the night.

With just over five minutes remaining in the half, freshman Brayden O’Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) drilled a triple and three free throws to pull the River Hawks within five. Although Maine fired back with a three of their own to hold an eight-point buffer, the River Hawks closed the half with an 8-4 run, capped off by another Hammond trey, to cut the Black Bears’ lead in half.

Coming out of the locker room, UMass Lowell found its rhythm on offense, going on a 7-3 stretch that was ignited by a three from Blunt, to pull even with Maine. The two teams proceeded to trade baskets, but with 13:56 to play Hammond sank back-to-back baskets to kick-start a 7-2 run that put the River Hawks in front by one.

With just over five minutes to play, Kristians Feierbergs connected on two straight threes to give Maine a seven-point advantage. The River Hawks continued to battle, cutting the lead down to five multiple times, but each time the Black Bears were able to thwart off any further attacks, sealing the 75-70 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks will stay on the road to visit New Hampshire on Saturday, January 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.