FINAL SCORE: UMass Lowell 73, Vermont 65
LOWELL, Mass. – The University of Vermont men's basketball dropped its season opener 73-65 at UMass Lowell on Monday night. The Catamounts start off the new campaign and conference play at 0-1. The River Hawks improve to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the league standings.  
 
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Box Score: Web | PDF
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The River Hawks jumped out of the gate with an 8-0 run but Stef Smith hit a pair of triples to cut the margin to 10-6 by the first media timeout.
• UML continued to put pressure on UVM with nine unanswered points in a four-minute span to pad its lead to 20-8 by the 11-minute mark. UVM settled into a rhythm with seven straight points over the next four minutes and drew within 20-15.
• The Cats continued to chip away for most of the half and whittled the deficit to 23-22 with 2:27 left on the clock after Bailey Patella canned a corner three. UMass Lowell's Ron Mitchell scored six consecutive points to end the half and stretched the lead to 29-22 at the break.
• The River Hawks built a double-double lead, 41-28, to open the second half after Obadiah Noel drained three triples.
• After Noel exited the game due to foul trouble, Justin Mazzulla took control for the Catamounts. The senior scored seven points with a three-pointer, breakaway dunk, and a layup in traffic to help the Cats get back into the game, 44-37, with 13 minutes to play.
• UML pushed the lead back to double digits at the eight-minute media timeout but once again the Green and Gold clawed back. Smith buried two treys and Ben Shungu cashed in four free throws as UVM trailed 56-52 at the 6:33 mark.
• The River Hawks generated a late 14-8 run and led 70-60 with 1:15 left on the clock. Shungu sank two more from the charity stripe, then netted a three-pointer from the right wing as the Cats faced a 71-65 gap with 27 seconds to go. UVM's comeback efforts eventually fell short after UML's Allin Blunt hit two free throws for the final margin of victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Smith paced the offense with 18 points and four rebounds. The senior guard made four attempts from long range and dished out an assist.
• Mazzulla added 17 points in his Catamount debut, two points shy of matching his career high, and collected six rebounds.
• Shungu scored double figures with 13 points and pulled down five boards.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont and UMass Lowell will play the second contest of a two-game set on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The conference matchup will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN app by logging in with your television provider. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 Vermont men's basketball season