LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Rinardo Perry (Washington, D.C.) logged a team- and season-high 16 points to lead the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (9-14) to a 97-73, non-conference victory against Fisher College (14-8) on Saturday afternoon at Costello.
The win snapped a four-game skid for the River Hawks. Perry, who tallied a personal-best three, three-pointers and five assists on the day, was one of five scorers in double figures for the squad. Senior Tyler Livingston (Hudson, N.H.) totaled 13 points, while redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.), sophomore Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and freshman Cameron Wolter (Fishers, Ind.) chipped in with 10 points each. Jones registered a career-best seven assists, as well. As a team, UMass Lowell shot a season-high 15 three-point field goals.
"I'm very pleased with how we won today," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "It's always great to be able to play all 11 guys. Everybody got in the scoring column and played significant minutes.
"We played like ourselves. We shared the ball on offense, we stuck to the defensive game plan, and because of that, we built up enough lead that we could play a lot of guys for significant minutes. That's always good to see."
Although the Falcons won the opening tip and scored the first points of the day, Livingston drained a triple from the top of the key to spark eight straight points for the River Hawks. The home squad would then use early threes from junior Matt Harris (Erie, Pa.), Livingston and Jones to create a double-digit buffer at 19-9 with 14:38 remaining in the first half.
Fisher cut the difference back to nine on three occasions before UMass Lowell put together a stretch of 12 straight points that was capped off by a long ball from freshman Stefan Borovac (Stoney Creek, Ontario) to extend the margin to 40-19 at 6:52. Borovac hit one more triple in the first, this time prior to free throws from redshirt-sophomore Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) and Livingston, and a layup from Wolter in the waning seconds, as the River Hawks took their largest lead yet into the break at 56-30.
The home team tallied the first 10 points coming out of halftime, including five from Thomas, to make the score 66-30 with 18:19 to go. The Falcons used a 13-5 spurt to close the deficit to 76-45 at 12:07. Both sides traded baskets with UMass Lowell maintaining at least a 30-point buffer until the Falcons recorded seven in a row to pull within 85-59 with less than eight minutes left to play. The River Hawks were aided by another three from Perry and a big time dunk from Smith in the final minutes. Despite 10 of the last 15 points coming from the Falcons, UMass Lowell earned the 97-73 decision.
Kyle Holmes paced the Falcons with a game-high 36 points, shooting 15-for-23 from the field with five threes. Malik Wilson added 17 points in the outing, as well.
Saturday's contest marked the first meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Fisher College in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks will return to action on Wednesday, February 1 when they kick off the second half the America East slate on the road at UAlbany. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.