The University of Massachusetts at Lowell scored 24 points as the result of 21 University of Maine turnovers on Wednesday night to earn an 88-76 America East men’s basketball victory at Lowell, Massachusetts.
Jahad Thomas went 10-for-19 from the field and led the River Hawks (11-16, 5-9 AE) with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Ryan Jones made five 3-pointers on his way to 24 points. Matt Harris posted 18 points for the winners, who shot 53 percent from the field (31-for-59) and cashed in on 17 of their 22 free throws
Aaron Calixte paced the Black Bears with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, but committed seven turnovers. Vernon Lowndes Jr. tallied 15 points and six rebounds, while Isaiah White scored 11 points and Andrew Fleming chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UMaine outrebounded UMass Lowell 39-30.
The Black Bears (6-23, 3-10 AE) grabbed their last lead of the game (55-53) on a Calixte 3-pointer with 14:45 remaining, but Harris answered with a 3 of his own only 16 seconds later to put UMass Lowell ahead for good.
UMaine did creep back within a single point on two Lowndes foul shots with 6:23 left, but Thomas made a jumper, Harris sank two free throws, the Thomas scored a layup and added a jumper to extend the lead to 80-71 with 3:59 to play.
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