UMass Lowell men’s basketball team tops Saint Peter’s on the road

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Senior Ayinde Hikim (Washington, D.C.) tallied a game-high 20 points, as the UMass Lowell men’s basketball team took down the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, 69-61, on Monday night.

“Tonight’s win was just what our team needed and it says a lot about the resiliency of our group,” said UML head coach Pat Duquette. “It was a very physical game and our group showed a lot of toughness to figure out a way to win on the road.”

Hikim, who added a team-high three assists, was one of four double-digit scorers for the River Hawks (4-1). Sophomore Brayden O’Connor (Ottawa, Ontario) added 17 points, with 15 coming in the second half.

Junior Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) was all over the stat sheet, contributing 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, while junior Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) drilled two, three-pointers on his way to 10 points. As a team, UMass Lowell shot 52.2% (24-46), while the defense excelled again, holding Saint Peter’s to just 38.5% (20-52) from the field.

The offense on both sides got to work early in the contest, making it a 6-6 game only three minutes in. A quick three and jumper gave the Peacocks a five-point edge, but the River Hawks responded with a vengeance, stringing together an 11-0 stretch, highlighted by five straight from Hikim, to take a 17-11 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half.