UMass Lowell snaps a two-game skid with 97-80 win over UNH

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It has been a bit of a struggle for the UMass Lowell men’s basketball team of late. Saturday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center, the second half was a reminder of just how good this team can be. A 57-point half may put to rest the thought that the River Hawks (14-7, 3-3) may not be the team everyone believes.

The final score does not show how close this game was. The UNH Wildcats (4-18, 2-5) hung in there on the road with UML for about thirty minutes. But once the River Hawks started playing ball the way they are capable of, the game became a bit of a rout. UML placed 5 players in double-figures, four of them starters, led by 5th senior Max Brooks’ 22 points and nine rebounds, Brooks now has five 20-point games this year. UMass Lowell got back to .500 in the league with the 97-80 win over the Wildcats.

What should not be forgotten in the 17-point loss by UNH is the performance of junior guard Sam Pissis. For the 12th straight game, he scored over 10 points. On Saturday he went for 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting, 5-of-12 from 3-point land. Sam did all he could to keep his team in the game. River Hawks Quinton Mincy called him a “nice player” after the game. In the end, he did not get much help from his teammates. For the second straight game, the River Hawks put up 50 points in the paint (52). Senior Cam Morris III helped that number out with 14 points. Their guards protected the ball, maybe the best all season as UML only committed five turnovers for the game. The other good sign if you are a UML fan is the breakout second half from freshman Martin Somerville. He broke out of a bit of a shooting slump to score 18 points in 13 minutes on 6-of-8 from the field, 3-of-4 from deep, and 3-of-3 from the line. Somerville got back to being what he had been for most of the year, the best freshman in the league.

The first half was a contested twenty minutes. UNH would only have the lead for 25 seconds at 11-10 at the 14:12 mark of the first half. A 3-point basket by Anthony McCombs III (11 points, 2 three-point makes) gave the Wildcats that lead. UMass Lowell was never able to really extend their lead. Their biggest lead was 8 at 23-15 on a 3-point make from Quincy Mincey (20 points, nine rebounds, 2 assists, 8th 20-point game) with 9:35 left in the half. Then again at 25-17 on a Brooks layup in the paint with 8:43 left. In the final six minutes of the first half, UNH pulled within two on five different occasions. The last one was with a second left when McCombs III knocked down a jumper before the half ended. UMass Lowell went to the locker room leading at 40-38. They were 7-2 when leading at the half.
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At the start of the second half, the Wildcats had the lead twice. The first time at 43-42 on a Prissis 3-ball with 17:57 left, then again on another Prissis basket, this time a two-point make with 16:51 left. From that point on, it was all UMass Lowell. A 10-0 run put the game away and Somerville had seven of those points with Mincey getting the other three. UML was up 13 at 70-57 with 8:24 left. The lead reached its highest point of 21 at 92-71 on a Yuri Covington (15 points 10 in the second half) 3-ball with 2:54 left in the game. From there, the River Hawks coasted to the 17-point victory. UNH forward Davide Poser had 11 points on 4-of-9 from the field, and 3-of-6 from three-point land.

After the game, head coach Pat Duquette was happy his team was “back on the winning track.” He did think his team allowed UNH to “hang around a little too long.” Brooks liked that the team “played hard to get the win.” When asked about the 3-game road trip that starts next Thursday at NJIT. He said, “We need to start the way we finished today.” Both he and Mincey still believe that if they play to their potential, they can be the best team in the conference.

That road trip has stops at NJIT, UMBC, and Binghamton before they return home on Feb.13 to play UAlbany.