Photo by George DeLuca/Connector

While it’s never fun to lose by 20 on your home floor, in now his third year at UMass Lowell, coach Pat Duquette knows that his team will need loses like the 80-60 defeat at the hands of the Boston University Terriers to grow towards becoming the Division 1 program the university is hoping for.

“It’s inevitable for the huge rebuilding process that we’re in,” said Duquette on the loss. “We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had many seemingly hopeless moments where you just can’t do anything right. We’ve had a lot of success. But there’s gonna be times like this, and there’s no question in my mind that I have the right guys in that locker room.”

UMass Lowell came into the game after an emotional comeback win over Boston College, as the squad rallied from 10-points down in the second half to beat the Eagles 68-66.

“Everything we go through with this team is a first because they’re so young,” said Duquette. “Sunday was great. These guys were excited, but we talked about it and tried to put it behind us.”

The Terrier’s allowed no such comeback tonight, as they improved to 4-5 on the season while the River Hawks dropped to 4-5 as well.

It was a forgettable first half for the River Hawks, as they were doubled by B.U 46-23 heading into the break. They shot a dismal 23 percent from the floor, and only managed to go 1-16 from beyond the arc. Jahad Thomas and Dontavious Smith led the team with only four points at the half.

What was at one point a 12-10 game turned ugly in the matter of a T.V timeout. The Terriers went on a 15-0 run that broke the game wide open.

There was an occasional miscommunication on defense by the River Hawks, but it was simply a half where the Terriers could not miss. Led by 14 first-half points by senior guard John Papale, Boston University shot 60 percent from the field, and matched that with 9-15 shooting from three-point range.

“It was a combination of us continuing to get a lot better on defense, and running into a very hot offensive shooting team,” said Duquette. “Most of our focus the next eight days will be on the defensive end, and we’ll continue to make improvements in that area.”

The second half played to a near stalemate. The River Hawks bumped their shooting percentage up to 33 percent for the game, but were never able to put together a sizable run.

DJ Mlachnik only played eight minutes, but scored a team-high 13 points in that short time. Jahad Thomas finished with eight points and a team high eight rebounds.

Freshman point guard Isaac White had an uncharacteristic game; recording a season-high 5 turnovers. White’s stellar play has become key for this River Hawk squad, but he was visibly frustrated with his unorthodox performance tonight.

“Isaac would be the first guy to stand up here and tell you he had one of those games,” said Duquette. “The reality is that he’s become so important to us as a team so early in his career that when he has a game like that it has an impact on his teammates.”

White finished with five points on the night.

The River Hawks had difficulties dealing with the height of the Terriers. B.U recorded nine blocks, and made it a hassle for the River Hawks to score in the interior.

Cheddi Mosely led the Terriers with 23 points, and Papale finished with 17.

The River Hawks will have an eight-day break before traveling to Central Connecticut State on Friday, Dec. 18