Fierce Rally Falls Just Short at UMass Lowell

Saturday, February 1

Lowell, Mass.

5:30 PM

University of New Hampshire

10-11,3-5America East

UMass Lowell

9-14,3-5America East

Team	1	2	F
New Hampshire	26	49	75
UMass Lowell	39	38	77

Jayden Martinez finishes off two of his team-high 18 points Saturday.

Jayden Martinez finishes off two of his team-high 18 points against UMass Lowell. (Jack Bouchard photo)

2/1/2020 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Jayden Martinez (Cibolo, Tex.) scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures and the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team made a fierce late bid for the win, but came up just short against UMass Lowell, 77-75, Saturday in the Tsongas Center.

Martinez made a three-pointer with 24.5 seconds left to cut the UMass Lowell lead to 74-72 and after a River Hawk foul shot, sophomore Marque Maultsby (Raleigh, N.C.) hit another trey to tie it 75-75 with 9.5 seconds left.

Christian Lutete answered with a pair of foul shots for the final score. A shot by UNH senior Chris Lester (Barrington, Ill.) at the buzzer bounced off the rim and away.

UNH is now 10-11 overall and 3-5 in America East. The Wildcats play a home game against Stony Brook on Saturday at noon in Lundholm Gymnasium for Alumni Day.

Martinez had seven rebounds to go with his 18 points. Maultsby had 15 points, five assists and four rebounds. Lester had 13 points and led the Wildcats with eight rebounds. Sophomore Nick Guadarrama (Newington, Conn.) added 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats trailed 70-58 with 3:27 to play before starting their final rally.

Lutete had 23 points and Obadiah Noel had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell is 9-14 overall and 3-5 in America East.

NEXT GAME

New Hampshire plays its next game at home Saturday, Feb. 8 against Stony Brook at noon.
The Wildcats celebrate Alumni Day against Stony Brook.

TICKETS

Single game tickets for UNH men's basketball home games start as low as $3.
They can be purchased by calling (603) 862-4000, visiting the Whittemore Center box office or by CLICKING HERE.

FIRST HALF

Martinez opened the game with a three-pointer and drive to the basket to put the 'Cats up 5-0.
The River Hawks used a 6-point run to lead 14-9 with 13:29 left in the half.
A Maultsby three-pointer and a pair of Guadarrama foul shots tied it 14-14.
Maultsby drove for a basket and sophomore Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz.) made a couple of buckets and it was 24-22 UMass Lowell with 5:54 to go.
The River Hawks had a 15-4 edge to the end of the half from there and led 39-26 at the break.

SECOND HALF

The River Hawks extended their 13-point halftime lead to as high as 17 points early in the second half.
They were up 47-30 with 17:31 left.
UNH chipped away at the lead and a Maulstby layup cut it to 49-45 with 12 minutes to go.
It was at four again at 58-54 with 7:59 left.
UMass Lowell pulled away again and led 70-58 with 3:39 left.
The lead was 72-62 with 2:04 to go.
With 50 seconds to play, UMass Lowell was up 74-66.
Josh Hopkins (Greensboro, N.C.) hit a three-pointer to make it 74-69 and set up a wild finish.

UNH NOTEBOOK

This marked the second game in a row and fifth time this season Martinez was UNH's top scorer.
Payne made all four of the field goals he attempted.
He scored a career-high eight points and had four rebounds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

UNH's biggest lead was five points early in the game.
There were five lead changes.
The Wildcats had a 38—27 edge in rebounds.
They had 15 second chance points to UMass Lowell's five.
UNH had 21 bench points to eight by the River Hawks.
The Wildcats had seven turnovers, UMass Lowell six.

SERIES NOTEBOOK

UNH has a 9-4 record against UMass Lowell since the River Hawks moved up to Division I and joined America East for the 2013-14 season.
The Wildcats have won five of the seven matchups in Lowell.