Score: UMass Lowell 88, UAlbany 69
 
Location: Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.
 
Records: UAlbany (14-15, 7-7 AE) | UMass Lowell (12-17, 6-8 AE)
 
Short Story: UAlbany drops its third game in a row with an 88-69 defeat at UMass Lowell despite 23 points from Ahmad Clark.
 
Key Stats

• Ahmad Clark scored 23 points with seven rebounds and three steals
• Antonio Rizzuto scored 15 points on 5-8 from three
• Five Riverhawks scored in double figures
• UMass Lowell shot 66.7% in the second half
• UMass Lowell outrebounded UAlbany 37-24

 
Coach Brown: "We're struggling right now.  Last two games we struggled offensively, and in this game, we didn't defend very well.  All of our switching worked when we played them in Albany so their post players didn't hurt us.  Today they were the tougher, more physical team, and we didn't do a good job at all on the defensive side of the ball.  We have to find a way to right the ship heading into Saturday."
 
Recap
 
Playing in their second-to-last road game of the regular season, the University at Albany men's basketball team visited UMass Lowell Wednesday looking to snap a two-game losing streak.  After trailing by four at the break, UAlbany saw UMass Lowell pull away in the second half to fall for the third game in a row, 88-69.
 
UMass Lowell scored the first four points of the game before UAlbany got on the board.  Sasha French, making his second-consecutive start, dunked off a setup from Ahmad Clark with 18:15 left in the first.
 
Clark hit a layup with 14:06 to go to cut UMass Lowell's lead to 10-8, before the Riverhawks responded with a three to go back up by five.  On UAlbany's next possession, Antonio Rizzuto hit a three to cut the lead back to two.
 
With 10:34 let in the first, Trey Hutcheson hit a layup to tie the game at 19.  UMass Lowell responded with a 7-0 run to take a 26-19 lead with 8:56 to go before the break.  Four quick points from Clark and French brought UAlbany back within three before UMass Lowell briefly pulled away again, leading 28-23 with 7:41 to go.
 
A layup from Malachi de Sousa one minute later cut UMass Lowell's lead to one.  Over the next five minutes, the Riverhawks slowly built a six-point lead, with just over one minute remaining in the first half.
 
The Riverhawks took a four-point, 39-35 lead into halftime.  Clark shared the game lead with 12 points in the first half, while dishing five assists.  UAlbany had shot 51.6% overall, but just 1-9 from three.  UMass Lowell shot 50.0%, hitting four of seven threes but just five of 11 free throws.  UAlbany had outscored UMass Lowell 28-20 in the paint, but the Riverhawks held a 9-2 advantage in second-chance points.
 
UMass Lowell opened the second half on a 7-2 run to take a 46-37 lead with 18:33 remaining.  Rizzuto hit another three to cut the lead back to six.  Clark soon brought UAlbany within five with a pair of free throws to make the game 47-42, but that is as close as the Danes would get to the lead for the rest of the night.
 
UMass Lowell went on a 10-1 run to lead 57-43 with 14:13 to go.  The Riverhawks had taken their first double-digit lead during the run, when America East leading scorer Christian Lutete knocked down a three to put Lowell up 54-42.
 
UAlbany managed to close within nine with 11:27 remaining, but by the mid-way point of the second, UMass Lowell's lead had grown back to 14.  The Riverhawks would ultimately lead by as many as 20 before sealing the wire-to-wire victory by 19, 88-69.
 
Clark finished with a game-high 23 points and added seven assists, while Rizzuto hit from three five times to finish with 15 points.  Most of Wednesday night's scoring came in the paint, with the Riverhawks holding a 52-40 advantage.  UAlbany finished shooting just over 50% from the floor, but UMass Lowell shot 66.7% in the second half, seeing five players score in double-figures, to outscore UAlbany by 15 after halftime.
 
Next: UAlbany celebrates Senior Night on Saturday, February 29 against Stony Brook in the final regular season home game.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.