Dan Cook
Connector Editor

After defeating Binghamton 71-59 on Jan 11, the River Hawks were able to complete the season sweep of the Bearcats with a 62-55 victory at Costello Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

The win brought UMass Lowell to 6-14 overall and 5-4 in America East play. The loss dropped the struggling Bearcats to 4-18 overall and further cemented their place as cellar dwellers of America East.

Much like the January match-up, it was a substantial UMass Lowell second half run that turned the tides of the game.

After seeing the River Hawks fall flat in the first half, fans at Costello witnessed a furious 19-2 run by UMass Lowell to gain the lead.

Similarly, the River Hawks rallied for an 18-2 run against Binghamton a month ago en route to a road victory.
The first half was dominated by the post play of Binghamton.

Senior centers Roland Brown and Alex Ogundadegbe pounded the offensive glass and cleared space for easy shots.
The tandem combined for 16 points on the afternoon.

The size advantage also bothered the River Hawks on the offensive end, forcing them to rely on jump shots in their half-court set.

However, Binghamton only led by four with 4:30 left in the first half.

UMass Lowell got careless in the final minutes though and allowed the visitors to build the lead with points of turnovers.

The first half was punctuated by an alley-oop dunkfrom Bearcats sophomore guard, Jordan Reed. With only seconds left, Yosef Yacob lobbed a pass near the rim and Reed skied behind the River Hawks defense for the throw down which brought the score to 35-22 at the half. Yacob and Reed led the Bearcats in scoring with 14 each.

Head Coach Pat Duquette brought a seemingly new team to the floor after intermission.

Expectedly, senior guard Akeem Williams was instrumental in the second frame surge. After a relatively quiet first, Williams came out firing following the break.

Using his quickness to his advantage, he drove to the basket for acrobatic layups and drained threes in transition to open up the floor for his teammates.

One of those teammates benefitting from Williams’ playmaking was sophomore guard Mark Cornelius. Finding open space in transition and on fast breaks, Cornelius tallied a season high 12 points.

However, it was seniors Williams and Antonio Bivins whom the River Hawks relied upon to sustain the led after the Bearcats had recovered from the 19-2 onslaught.

After Binghamton guard drained a three pointer to cut the UMass Lowell lead to two, at 53-51, with under 1:30 to play, William coolly dribbled up the court and answered with a triple of his own.

On the following offensive possession, Chad Holley launched an off-balance jumper with the shot clock expiring and it was Bivins who grabbed the offensive rebound to seal the deal.

Bivins finished with 13 points and Williams led all scorers with 19 points. He also chipped in five rebounds and three assists to fill out his stat line. Holley also played well with 12 points.

The River Hawks will have a stretch of road games before returning home to play Stony Brook at the Tsongas Center on February 15.