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LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Isaac White (Ashland, Ohio) floated in a last-second, game-winning shot to propel the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-1) to an exciting, 87-84 victory against Sacred Heart (1-2) in the team's home opener at the Tsongas Center Wednesday evening.
 
"This was a really exciting game and an excellent win for our program," said Head Coach Pat Duquette. "I was happy with the way we played. Everybody knows we are a young team with eight freshmen, and to win a close game down the stretch is a credit to them. We scored a lot of points, which I think is a good thing even though we've always been more of a defensive oriented team."
 
The win marked the first for the UMass Lowell program at the Tsongas Center in the Division I era. The team was paced by five double-digit scorers, including White, who finished with 17 points. Redshirt sophomore Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) posted team bests with 20 points and nine rebounds in the decision. The River Hawks forced 25 SHU turnovers in the contest, while tallying 15 steals. The home bench was also pivotal, outscoring the visitors, 43-15.

With the score tied at 84-84, White drove hard to the basket, taking a foul on the play en route to scoring the game-winner with just 1.3 seconds on the clock.

The River Hawks attacked in the opening minutes of the contest, using a three from the wing by freshman Ryan Jones (Rio Rancho, N.M.) to spark an early 7-2 lead. Although the Pioneers were able to make it a one possession game, Thomas completed a three-point play and White drained a bucket from long range to give the home squad a 15-7 edge with 16:11 remaining in the first half.
 
Sacred Heart answered with eight straight points to knot the score at 15-15, and although freshman Keith Hayes II (Little Rock, Ark.) and White combined to create a three-point buffer for UMass Lowell, the visitors used an 11-2 run to pull in front, 26-20, at 11:29 in the first.
 
The home team would quickly erase the deficit, however, and regain the upper hand with a 10-2 spurt that included another three from Jones, making the score 30-28 with less than nine minutes to go in the half. The back-and-forth action continued with eight more lead changes in the next four minutes until the River Hawks hit 10 unanswered, capped off by five in a row from Hayes, to take a 49-41 advantage at 3:59. The teams traded baskets in the waning minutes of the first, as UMass Lowell was able to maintain an eight-point margin heading into the break at 55-47.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Pioneers tied the score at 55-55. Following three more stalemates, Thomas started and finished a 12-4 River Hawk run, helping the home team take its largest lead of the night at 75-65 with 10:21 to go.
 
SHU responded with 15 consecutive points in the next five minutes before redshirt freshman Dontavious Smith (Cullen, La.) broke the silence with a tip in, making the score 80-77. The Pioneers made it a two-possession game once more, but freshman Logan Primerano (Peru, Ind.) finished a three-point play and senior Mark Cornelius (Westford, Mass.) banked in a layup, putting the River Hawks back on top, 84-82 with just over a minute left.
 
Jones (12 pts), Hayes (10 pts) and Cornelius (10 pts) rounded out the double-digit scorers for UMass Lowell. Cane Boome turned in a double-double (20 pts, 10 rebs) to pace four 10+ point scorers for SHU.
 
Wednesday's contest marked the 40th meeting between UMass Lowell and Sacred Heart in the sport of men's basketball. The Pioneers still own a 23-18 lead in the all-time series. The River Hawks will return to action on Saturday, November 21 when they travel to South Bend, Ind. for a 2 p.m. tilt against Notre Dame.