SPRINGFIELD, MA (Jan. 22, 2008) - Senior F Mike Gore (Wilmington, MA) scored a career-high 20 points as UMass Lowell defeated American International, 54-47, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tilt at the Butova Gymnasium.

The win was the third straight for the River Hawks, who improved to 7-9 overall and 5-7 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's home clash against Bryant (4:00). AIC slipped to 7-11 overall and 4-9 in the Conference.

Gore, who bested his previous career mark of 14 points in a recent 62-59 loss to Pace, converted 9 of 15 field goal attempts, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Sophomore G Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) chipped in 10 points.

The River Hawks also received a boost from sophomore G Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN), who grabbed six rebounds in addition to seven points.

Sophomore F Aikeem Vanderhorst led AIC with 14 points, shooting 4-8 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line.

AIC’s 47 points marked a defensive season-low for the River Hawks, who allowed just 21 second half points and forced the Yellow Jackets into .353 field goal shooting (18-51) for the game and .320 in the second half (8-25).

UML led 44-40 with 6:14 left in the game and used a 9-2 spurt to post a 53-42 cushion with 35 seconds left to put the game out of reach. Gore, Heatherly and sophomore C Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QUE) each converted jumpers while senior G Dashon Harper (Columbus, OH) converted a pair of free throws to highlight the run.

The River Hawks led at the half 30-26.