UMass Lowell makes it four in a row with a 78-67 win over Stonehill

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On Wednesday night, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (9-4) looked to continue their fine play of late. They were playing game three of a five-game homestand against a Stonehill Skyhawks (6-7) team that had lost their last 27 road games dating back to February of 2023. The nine-point win by the River Hawks had its challenges, especially in the first half when it looked like UMass Lowell was going to run Stonehill out of Costello Athletic Center. As River Hawks head coach Pat Duquette said afterward “Love the effort of Stonehill. They play with heart.”

Indeed the Skyhawks did but it did not start that way. UMass Lowell jumped on them with a 12-0 run to begin the contest. Quincy Clark (21 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds) got the run started by scoring the first four points. Max Brooks scored the next four points on his way to an 18-point, 6-rebound night. It forced the Skyhawks to call a timeout with 16:42 left in the half. After the TO, Quinton Mincy and Cam Morris III (10 points, 9 boards) pushed the lead to 12-0 with 14:19 left in the half. It would take Stonehill almost six minutes before they scored their first basket, a 3-point hoop by Amir Nesbitt (12 points) that made it a 12-3 game with 14:09 left in the half.

From that point on, the Skyhawks played a much better half of basketball. As Quincy Clark said afterward “The bad start forced them to play harder.” Stonehill fought back and would take a one-point lead at 20-19 on a Chas Stinson (12 points) layup off of a River Hawks turnover with 8:57 left. In fact, the Skyhawks had a three-point lead at 33-30 off of three points from Stinson. A free throw and another layup off of a UMass Lowell turnover (12 for the game). The teams went to the locker room tied at 33-33 thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Anthony Blunt.

In the first three minutes of the second half, Stonehill was looking poised to finally break the ice and get a win on the road. But the River Hawks had other ideas. An 11-0 run gave the home team some breathing room that they would use to get the win. Clark got the run started with five straight points. A Mincy fast-break dunk off a turnover (Stonehill had eight of them) was followed by free throws from Yuri Covington. Clark hit a short jumper in the paint and Morris finished off the run with a layup. With thirteen minutes left, the River Hawks had a 49-40 lead.

It would be a lead that UMass Lowell would never give back. Mincy’s second chance bucket in the paint pushed the lead to ten at 57-47 with nine minutes left. UMass Lowell would keep Stonehill at arm’s length for the rest of the game to pick up the win and stay unbeaten at home (8-0.). Anthony Blunt was asked about the final fourteen minutes of the first half. He said, “It was a game of runs.” Clark said that Blunt’s three-pointer at the buzzer “Was a big shot.”

With two games left before conference play begins, both players were asked about what they would like to see the team do before the January 4th league opening game at UAlbany. Clark would like to see the team “Lock in on the small things” while Blunt said “Staying poised.” Both the players and the coach know it is not always going to be perfect but over the last three games all at home, the team has faced some adversity that they have found ways to survive.

Saturday afternoon game four of the homestand with the Boston University Terriers will be a 2 PM tipoff at Costello.