River Hawks Too Much for Bearcats

The UMass Lowell River Hawks downed the Binghamton Bearcats in men's basketball on Sunday afternoon 79-75 at the Events Center.  The River Hawks led 34-32 at the half and withstood a furious Binghamton comeback late in the second half to up their America East record to 2-0.  The Bearcats drop to 0-2 in conference play.

Binghamton's 6-9 forward Thomas Bruce was sidelined with the stomach bug and did not dress for the game.  In addition guard Yosef Yacob sat out his second game in the last three with concussion-like symptoms.  Forward Justin McFadden also remains sidelined with similar issues.

The Bearcats missed Bruce's inside presence as the River Hawks dominated the boards with a 49-37 rebounding advantage.  Yacob's stellar outside shooting was missed also  as the Bearcats shot just 34 percent overall and 9-28 (32 percent) from three-point range.

Jahad Thomas was a one-man show for UMass Lowell.  The reigning America East Player of the Week led all scorers with 28 points and also paced both teams in rebounding with 15 boards.

The Bearcats' top scorer was Willie Rodriguez who hit for 23 points.  Timmy Rose and Marlon Beck each scored 14 points while Fard Muhammad notched 10 points. Beck set a new BU record for three-point baskets made with a first-half triple.  He and Troy Hailey (2003-07) shared the record with 182 successful three's.

The Bearcats remain home to host the Vermont Catamounts on Wednesday night.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 PM with broadcast time on News Radio 1290 WNBF set for 6:45.