LOWELL, Mass. – Antonio Bivins finished with 15 points as UMass Lowell posted a 67-63 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University Tuesday night at the Costello Athletic Center. The River Hawks improve to 15-7 overall and 11-7 in the NE-10, while the Penmen saw a three-game win streak snapped and are now 10-12 and 6-12 in the league.
Bivins finished 7-13 from the floor and also hauled in six rebounds. Matt Welch totaled 14 points and seven rebounds, while Akeem Williams added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) led SNHU with 16 points and eight rebounds, going 8-11 at the free throw line. Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) knocked down three three-pointers and registered 13 points, while Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) notched 11 points and nine rebounds. Lucas Croteau (Rochester, N.H.) chipped in with 10 points.
Southern New Hampshire held a 53-51 lead with just under five minutes to go following back-to-back baskets by Corey Boland (Union, N.J.), but the River Hawks responded with a 7-0 run and a four-point play by Williams with 4:04 left gave UML a 58-53 lead.
UMass Lowell would seal the win by going 5-8 at the free throw line in the final minute. SNHU would get it down to three, 66-63, with 10 seconds left on a Josh Morgan-Green (Upper Marlboro, Md.) three, and fouled Chris Thompson with seven seconds left. Thompson missed the first at the line but made the second to account for the final.
The guests opened the second half on a 12-4 run and a three by DeSantis with 14 minutes remaining made it 41-35 in favor of Southern New Hampshire. The River Hawks used an 11-4 run to retake the lead, 46-45, on a Welch three with 9:31 left. The two teams would then trade the lead three times before UML's decisive run.
Neither side led by more than five in a first half that saw three ties and seven lead changes. UMass Lowell used a 9-3 run to build a 25-20 lead with five minutes to go on a Thompson three, but the Penmen countered with a 7-2 spurt and a DeSantis layup with 2:55 to go before intermission tied the game at 27. The River Hawks took a 31-29 lead into the locker room.
UMass Lowell owned a 47-41 rebounding advantage, including a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 19-7 advantage in second chance points for the River Hawks. Neither team shot the ball well, with UML shooting 34.8% and the Penmen 38.6% for the contest.
Southern New Hampshire returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Bentley University for a 3:30 contest.
