Umass Lowell rallies for win
River Hawks move to next round for first time in Div. I
Obadiah Noel scored 23 points as Umass Lowell erased a 16-point deficit to edge Stony Brook 64-62 in the opening round of the America East Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Noel scored the gamewinner on a short drive with 6.6 seconds left. The win marks the first time at the Division I level that the River Hawks have advanced in the postseason. They face No. 3 seed New Hampshire on Sunday.
Kalil Thomas had 15 points for Umass Lowell (9-11). Connor Withers added 11 points. The River Hawks forced a seasonhigh 21 turnovers.
Stony Brook, which had defeated Umass Lowell twice in the regular season, scored a season-low 19 second-half points.
Juan Felix Rodriguez had 22 points for the Seawolves (9-14). Frankie Policelli added 15 points. He also committed seven turnovers. Tykei Greene had 12 points and six rebounds. Mouhamadou Gueye had 8 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks.
More America East men
Hartford 77, Binghamton 60: Austin Williams matched his career high with 29 points plus a career-high 15 rebounds as fourth-seeded Hartford got past ninth-seeded Binghamton in their America East Conference Tournament opener. The Hawks play fifth-seeded Ualbany on Sunday. Miroslav Stafl had 11 points and seven rebounds for Hartford (12-8). Hunter Marks added 11 points and five assists. D.J. Mitchell had eight rebounds. Dan Petcash
had 15 points for the Bearcats (4-14). Tyler Bertram added 14 points. Hakon Hjalmarsson had 11 points and seven rebounds. Brenton Mills, the Bearcats’ leading scorer entering the matchup at 15 points per game, shot only 17 percent in the game (1-for-6). The Hawks are undefeated in three games against the Bearcats this season. Most recently, Hartford defeated Binghamton 77-74 on Jan. 3.
MAAC men
Rider 78, St. Peter’s 65: Rider jumped ahead 43-31 at the halftime break and coasted to the win in Jersey City, N.J. Allen Powell scored 25 points, connecting on 7 of 8 from 3-point territory, and Dwight Murray, Jr. chipped in with 17 points for the Broncs (5-14, 5-11). KC Ndefo had 21 points to lead St. Peter’s (12-9, 9-7).
MAAC women
Niagara 78, Quinnipiac 69: Angel Parker scored 23 points to help Niagara roll past visiting Quinnipiac. The Purple Eagles raced out to a 28-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised to the win to move to 4-6 overall and in the MAAC. Ally Haar and Sydney Faulcon chipped in with 12 points apiece for Niagara. Mikala Morris scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Quinnipiac (13-7, 11-5).