The University of Massachusetts-Lowell Riverhawks put four players in double figures, and would cruise to an 85-54 win over the Maine Black Bears in a men’s basketball America East Quarterfinal game played at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts on Saturday evening.
#7 seed Maine had three small leads early, with their last one coming on a Gedi Juozapaitis layup with 14:15 left in the first half at 8-7. That is when UMass-Lowell would take off and wouldn’t be caught again. An 8-0 Riverhawks run put them up seven at 15-8, but the spurt kept going to 28-7 over a nine minute span and when Yuri Covington knocked down a three-pointer it was 35-15. The hosts led by as many as 22, and led 44-26 at halftime on the strength of 60% shooting. Two free throws by Karim Coulibaly, a jumper by Ayinde Hikim, and a Max Brooks dunk to start the second half put the Riverhawks up 24 as the onslaught continued and the advantage grew to as many as 33 as the #2 seed UMass-Lowell advanced to the semifinal round.
Juozapaitis had 16 points and four assists in the loss for Maine. Kellen Tynes added 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Peter Filipovity chipped in eight points and five rebounds, and Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish had seven points and three steals. The Black Bears shot 41% from the floor and were outscored in bench points 37-12. Brayden O’Connor had 14 points, Everette Hammond 13, Hikim 12, and Coulibaly 10 points in the win for UMass-Lowell who improves to 25-7. The Riverhawks are also 16-0 at home this season. The first season under new head coach Chris Markwood for Maine ends at 13-17, the most wins and conference wins since the 2010-11 season which is also the last time they made the America East playoffs before this year.
Recap and photo by Chris Lessner
Photo- Maine head coach Chris Markwood talks to his team during a timeout a game earlier this season at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono
Box Score
UME (13-17) 26 28- 54
UML (25-7) 44 41- 85
Rebounds- Maine 23, UML 33
Free throws- Maine 5-10, UML 17-20
Turnovers- Maine 15, UML 12
Three-pointers- Maine: Juozapaitis 2, Clayton/UML: Hammond 2, Blunt, O’Connor, Watkins, Covington
