LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Obadiah Noel and Josh Gantz combined to score 38 points and Christian Lutete added a double-double to propel UMass Lowell to an 88-59 victory over Division III-member Massachusetts-Boston on Friday.
Noel made half of his 12 shots and all eight of his free throws to score a season-high 20 for the River Hawks (4-3), while Gantz added 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lutete pitched in with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
Lowell worked its way to a 35-26 halftime lead by holding the Beacons to 23-percent shooting (7 of 30). Allin Blunt had eight points and five rebounds off the bench to spark the River Hawks in the first half. Lutete's layup capped a 9-2 run to open the second half and the River Hawks led 44-28 with 16:34 left to play and led comfortably from there.
Michael Boyd and Kevin Nunez paced the Beacons with 11 points apiece. UMass Boston hit just 29 of 72 shots from the floor (28 percent) and just 2 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc. Lowell shot 45 percent from the floor but made only 3 of 19 from distance.
