Umass Lowell men fall to Umass in Amherst
The River Hawks were no match for the Minutemen on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
Josh Cohen collected a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Umass men’s basketball team topped Umass Lowell, 9177, in Amherst.
“Give a lot of credit to Umass,” said UML head coach Pat Duquette. “I think that’s as much of an improved team as I’ve seen in one year in a while. Obviously, we came here last year and had a great win, and we’re excited about that, but they beat us this year, and I thought they beat us well.”
Holding a 45-31 lead at halftime, the Minutemen (5-2) embarked on a 10-point swing during a strong second-half surge, building a 28-point lead with 4:22 left to put the game away. Umass Lowell (6-3) senior guard Yuri Covington led the comeback attempt. The 6-foot1, 192-pound guard netted a team-high 14 points, tying his season high, while going 3-for-7 from threepoint land.
Originally holding a slim 17-16 lead midway through the first half, the River Hawks offense appeared to stall and was unable to regain its composure, despite five players reaching double figures. Offensive catalyst Ayinde Hikim tried to spark the attack, posting a teamhigh 10 points in the first half, with his team trailing 45-31 at intermission. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior ended the afternoon with 13 points and five rebounds.
Junior forward Cam Morris III potted 13 points, while senior forward Max Brooks netted 12 and five rebounds before fouling out with 2:20 to play with his team trailing 87-66 Sophomore Brayden O’connor rounded out the doubledigit attack. The 6-foot-4, 207-pound guard netted 10 points and five boards, doing most of his damage in the first half.
HART SHINES >> Shirley’s Hart sisters combined for 22 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Fitchburg State women’s basketball teamfell to the Lasers of Lasell University, 71-53, in non-conference action.
Twin sisters Stephanie and Kathryn Hart each netted 11 points in the loss. Stephanie completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Wilmington’s Olivia Almeida hit back-toback threes for the Falcons (5-4) in the fourth quarter, getting her team within 12.
Wrestling
PELHAM SWEEPS >> Pelham pulled out all the stops in a tri-meet sweep, defeating Alvirne, 53-13, and Mascoma Valley, 74-0.
Winning both matches for the Pythons were Lex Kieran at 113 (two forfeits), Hunter Knight at 120 (two tech falls), Owen Fagan at 126 (fall, forfeit), Matt Raymond at 132 (two falls), Ben Maslanek at 144 (fall, forfeit), Philippe Jussaume at 150 (decision, fall), Michael Harrington at 157 and 165 (two falls), Billy Nicolls at 175 (decision, fall). Russell Leonard at 215 (two falls) and Victor Zannoni at 285 (two falls).
Swimming
GREATER LOWELL 93, MINUTEMAN 77 >> Tri-captain Regan Brady got first in 1-meter diving, as the Gryphons (1-0) pooled their resources in a big opening night win.
Greater Lowell was led by all three captains. Nick
Morais established personal best times in all of his races, while Sadie Telles showcased her speed in the relays. It was a full team effort for Greater Lowell, getting key points from veterans and new swimmers alike, posting several personal best times in the process.
Boys hockey
DANVERS 5, LITTLETON/ BROMFIELD 1 >> The Tigers took the season-opening loss as Danvers held a 3012 shots advantage.
Tyler Proteau made 25 saves and allowed four goals in 44 minutes for Littleton/bromfield. Danvers’ final goal came into an empty net. Gavin Werling
netted Littleton/bromfield’s lone goal, the assists going to Zach Lizotte and Conor Glew. LUNENBURG/A-S 2, NASHOBA 2 >> Lunenburg/ayer-shirley advanced in the Lowell High Cobblestone Tourney with a shootout victory over Nashoba Tech after the teams were tied following regulation and overtime.
Garrett Hakey was the winning goalie for Lunenburg/a-s. Scoring goals in regulation for the team were Drew Short and Connor Lammi. Short also scored in the shootout. Lunenburg/ayer-shirley will continue in the tournament Sunday at the Tsongas Center at 2:30 p.m.
Girls track
LOWELL SHINES >> Sophomore Ella Machado won the mile with a solid season-opening time of 5:40.89 at the MSTCA Winter Festival.
Senior Quinn Petzold had a great afternoon, tying for first in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet, 10 inches and placing second in the 600 with a time of 1:41.75. Fellow seniors Drea Defreitas and Princess Onyenwe finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the high jump, with both clearing 4-10.
Senior Scarlett Prak ran a strong race in the 1,000 to finish sixth in 3:35.03. Placing eighth for Lowell were senior Anneliese Nogueira in the 300 (45.57) and freshman Kayla Moriarty in the shot put (28-1).
Girls hockey
WINTHROP 6, SHAWSHEEN 0 >> The Rams were blanked as Winthrop goaltender Riley Towse posted a 16-save shutout.