In the end, the hug they dug was too deep.
The UMass Lowell men’s basketball team fell 73-64 to visiting NJIT during America East action Thurdsay night at the Kennedy Family Athletics Complex.
The River Hawks (8-11, 3-1 AE) lost their first league game of the winter and fell to 46-7 in games in the building since the start of the 2022-23 season. NJIT took a huge 36-17 lead into halftime before UML rallied.
Angel Montas Jr. continued his torrid scoring by netting a team-high 22 points and adding 11 rebounds for UML. Scoring 11 points apiece were Xavier Spencer and Darrel Yepdo. Spencer contributed seven rebounds, while Yepdo, a Dracut native, claimed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
Austin Green contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
Bench scoring was the difference as NJIT’s bench outscored its counterparts by a wide 39-5 margin. UML’s 12 turnovers proved costly. The River Hawks only held the lead for 53 seconds. UML will host Vermont on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m.
Women
UMass Lowell women’s basketball controlled the tempo early and built a second-quarter cushion, but a decisive third-quarter by NJIT turned the America East game as the River Hawks fell, 68–57, on Thursday afternoon in Newark, N.J
The River Hawks (6-12, 0-5 AE) came out sharp to open the contest. Senior guard Jaini Edmonds (Worcester) buried a pair of early threes to spark the offense, and UMass Lowell used a quick 7–0 burst to grab the first multi-possession edge.
“A promising first half for us, and then the third quarter got us again,” said UML head coach Jon Plefka. “The intensity was turned up, and unfortunately we couldn’t match it. We needed to end their runs quicker, but couldn’t make a play or get a stop when we needed it most.”
Senior guard Sabrina Larsson (Uppsala, Sweden) finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers, Edmonds added 11 and junior guard Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) posted eight points and 11 rebounds.
UML returns to action Jan. 22 at Vermont (11 a.m.).