UMass Lowell defeats Bryant 89-67 on Senior Night

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Thursday night was Senior Night at Costello Athletic Center for two members of the UMass Lowell River Hawks basketball team. A special night for Ayinde Hikim and Karim Coulibaly turned out to be a great night for the River Hawks (20-7, 11-3) as they defeated the Bryant College Bulldogs (17-12, 9-5) by an 89-67 score. This game was for second place in the league standings which is now owned by the River Hawks, based on winning the two regular season games with Bryant. The loss by the Bulldogs now gives them a 3-game losing streak at what most would say is the wrong time of year. What is also not a good sign, is the lack of discipline by the Bulldogs. Five technical fouls were called on Bryant. Forward Connor Withers and a member of the Bulldogs coaching staff were ejected in the second half. A meltdown occurred for the visitors in the second half. They paid for it in the end.

This is not to take away from what the River Hawks did. Senior guard Ayinde Hikim played his final home game at Costello in front of 703 fans. He went for 14 points, six assists, and two steals. He played all but the final 21 seconds of the game. His coach Pat Duquette called him “our court leader” and on Thursday night he was just that and more. UMass Lowell got a solid contribution from all that played. They will need that going forward with the conference postseason playoffs right around the corner.

As has been the case on this final homestand, in which UMass Lowell went 3-0, turnovers were a little on the high side. 17 of them for the third straight game, which results in 23 points for the Bulldogs off of them. Those numbers must come down some. Bryant was aggressive from the jump scoring 50 points in the paint. They took the ball to the basket hard all night, while it did not pay off in a win for the Bulldogs, it may be how they play come playoff time. One thing is for sure, 3-point shooting is something that must be worked on by Bryant. They shot 2-for-18 from deep 11.1%. That will not work in March.

Bryant’s best run of the night came early in the first half. A 6-0 run that gave them a 9-3 lead with 16:50 left in the first half. Earl Timberlake (14 points, seven rebounds, five assists) scored in the paint off a River Hawks turnover. Daniel Rivera a double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds (fifth one of the year) also scored in the paint off a River Hawks turnover. Rivera would score again, this time on a dunk off a fast break to give Bryant a 9-3 lead with 16:50 left in the first half. Not to be outdone, the River Hawks went on their first-half run. There was a 16-0 run that started with four points from Yuri Covington (25 points), two on a second-chance layup in the paint. Then hitting two free throws at the line UMass Lowell was 22-of-28 at the line. Covington and Quinton Mincy (26 points, six rebounds) hit 3-point shots to tie the game at 17-17. Later on in the run, Anthony Blunt and Mincy hit 3-point baskets to give the River Hawks their first double-digit lead of the game at 28-17 with seven minutes left in the half. UMass Lowell would take a six-point lead with them to the locker room where they are 17-2 when leading at the break. It was 41-35 River Hawks at the half.

The second half was about two things. First, UMass Lowell never gave the lead up at any time. Second, the Bulldogs came unglued. They did however have a chance to score before the half evening began. Hikim was given a technical foul as the first half came to an end. Bulldogs guard Doug Edert went to the line and missed both foul shots. The Bulldogs were 9-for-19 at the line. From there the half and the game started to get away from Bryant. At 12:07, two bench technicals were called on the Bulldogs. Hikim made both shots to give his team a 10-point lead at 54-44. Seconds later, Withers was hit with his second technical of the game he was escorted to the locker room while Hikim hit two more free throws to give UMass Lowell a 58-44 lead with 11:54 to play. From there, the lead never was under double-figures for the rest of the second half. The River Hawks kept their composure and finished the game the way they wanted it done. It reached its high with 11 seconds left on a Covington layup in the paint that gave UMass Lowell the final score of 89-67.

Coach Duquette called this a “Great win against a really good and talented Bryant team.” They can now look ahead to a showdown game with Vermont on Saturday afternoon in Burlington, VT. They can also go into that game, with the knowledge of having second place locked up. The 11 wins in league play, matches their win total from last season’s conference schedule. It is shaping up to be the same possible path to the league crown as a year ago when UMass Lowell made it to the postseason championship game only to lose to Vermont in Burlington. Will this year be different?