UMass Lowell Improves to 2-0 in League Play in Win Over NJIT

Read Time:4 Minute, 21 Second

On Thursday night the UMass Lowell River Hawks (11-4, 2-0) held their home opener in the America East Conference. Their opponent, the NJIT Highlanders (4-10,-0-2) were looking to get things on track on the road. It was a game that River Hawks head coach Pat Duquette called “Not an easy game.” His team made it two-for-two in league play with a 70-62 win over the Highlanders at Costello Athletic Center.

As was the case in the conference opener last Saturday at UNH, sophomore guard Brayden O’Connor led the way with 22 points for Lowell. He would start the game by knocking down two 3-point shots on his way to a 6-for-10 night from the field, 5-of-6 from deep. His coach calls him “a good 3-point shooter” who can also rebound and defend. At times it seems that the River Hawks were in control of this game. They held the lead for 16:51 seconds of the first half. However, when the half ended they found themselves on the short end of a 35-34 score. In fact, two of the three ties in the contest came in the last four minutes of the first half.

A first half that brought a smile to your face if you are a River Hawks fan. That was because, for the first time in nine games, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly was back in uniform and in the starting lineup. During his absence, the team was 6-3 overall, and 4-3 in Division I games. His coach said: “His minutes will be managed to get his stamina back.” But he and the rest of the team were glad to have him back in the fold. He played less than twelve minutes scoring five points and two boards but it was his presence in the paint that was huge for the River Hawks.

Lowell started the game scoring the first eight points of the night. Back-to-back 3-point bombs from O’Connor, followed by an inside basket from Coulibaly got the home team off to a great start. NJIT would keep themselves in the first half on the strength of its 3-point shot-making. They made 4-of-11 from distance and shot 37% from the field (14-of-37).

The combination of Mekhi Grey (10 points in half) and Tariq Francis (10 points in the half) kept the Highlanders within reach of the River Hawks. Grey would tie the game at 31-31 on a dunk off a Lowell turnover. They would tie it again at 33-33 on a made layup by Elijah Buchanan (13 points) with 2:35 left in the half. They took the lead to the locker room on a second-chance layup from Eyal Nankin with two minutes left. At the break, NJIT was up 35-34.

When leading at the break, the Highlanders were 3-3. When the River Hawks trailed at the half they were 1-3. NJIT scored the first points of the second half on baskets from Buchanan, a 3-pointer, then a Robinson jumper off a River Hawks turnover It was 40-34 with 18:52 to play. UMass Lowell quickly erased the deficit by going on a 6-0 run. O’Connor with a three, Max Brooks (11 points) with a short jumper in the lane, followed by making one-of-two at the free throw line tied the game at 40-40 with 16:52 to play.

Brooks gave them the lead back on a dunk off a Highlander’s turnover 42-40, and the run was now 8-0. They would increase the lead to 46-40 on a made free throw then a 3-point make from Quinton Mincy (11 points off the bench). Back-to-back steals from Ayinde Hikim (12 points) gave Lowell their first double-digit lead of the night at 55-43 with 9:53 left in the game. Duquette said: that Hikim “changed the game with his defense.” The Highlanders went on a 6-0 run to get back in the game. A Grey (14 points) layup, a Robinson jumper, and a Levi Lawal layup in the paint made it a 55-49 game with 7:22 left. The Highlanders cut it to four at 58-54 on a Francis (15 points) three-pointer with 5:49 to play. When Justin Anderson made two free throws it was a one-possession game at 60-57 with 4:19 to go. However, that would be as close as NJIT would get. UMass Lowell finished the game by outscoring the Highlanders by a 10-5 margin to get the win 70-62.

Coach Duquette still believes “his team needs to get better.” He was not very happy with their play as they committed more turnovers (15) than assists (11). However, the same can be said of the visitors who had only six assists on 24 made baskets. They also had 13 turnovers to their credit. The River Hawks will look to make it three in a row on Saturday afternoon when they host the University of Maryland-Baltimore County at Costello. Tipoff is 1 pm.