LOWELL, Mass. – Featuring three Terriers in double figures, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed a 74-62 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday afternoon at Tsongas Center in a game they never trailed. 
 
BU (5-7) posted a 41.9 field goal shooting percentage and held the River Hawks (6-7) to a season-low 31.3 FG%. Senior Max Mahoney led all scorers with 23 points and was joined by junior Javante McCoy (14 points) and sophomore Walter Whyte (10 points) in double figures.

Both Christian Lutete (16 pts., 11 rebs.) and Ron Mitchell (11 pts., 10 rebs.) had a double-double for UML, but junior Sukhmail Mathon posted a career-high 13 rebounds in his first start of the season to help the Terriers post a 46-40 advantage in rebounds.
  
THE TURNING POINT

• Owning a 32-27 halftime lead, Mahoney came out firing in the second half, scoring the first eight points to put the Terriers ahead, 40-27, with 17:26 to play in regulation. 
• UML cut the deficit to 47-39 at 12:04 on Jordyn Owens' layup, but BU put its lead at double digits for good when McCoy flushed one of his two 3-pointers one minute later.
• Whyte extended the lead to 20 points (66-46) for the first time at 5:16 following McCoy's steal.
• BU went 8-of-11 (72.7%) in the final 20 minutes from the line to help fend off any potential UMass Lowell challenge. 

 THE SETUP

• The Terriers opened up an early nine-point advantage (10-1) after Whyte hit a 3-pointer and Mahoney scored on a putback with 15:18 to go in the first.
• BU moved ahead by 10 (19-9) for the first time when sophomore Alex Vilarino hit a layup five minutes later.
• UML responded with an 8-0 spurt capped off by a Obadiah Noel jumper at 8:09, but BU answered with a 9-1 run of its own to pull ahead, 28-19, when Whyte made a free throw to complete a 3-point play with 4:12 to play in the half.
• Whyte led all Terriers in the first half with eight points and five rebounds for the 32-27 advantage.

GAME NOTES

• Shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 at the line, Mahoney reached 20+ points for the third time this season and is averaging 20.7 points over the last six games.
• Needing just two points, Mahoney surpassed LeVar Folk ('99) for No. 18 all-time in the BU record book at 1,214 points, six shy of former 1984 Canadian Olympic Team member, Tony Simms ('83).
• With five assists, McCoy has posted 13 over the last two games against just one turnover.
• Mathon's 13 rebounds topped his previous high of 12 set at Binghamton back on Dec. 7.
• UML entered the game averaging 75.5 ppg and 45.9 FG% but was held below 40 percent for just the third time this season at 21-of-67 (.313).
• Facing the River Hawks for the seventh straight season, the Terriers improved to 5-3 all-time following last year's 79-60 home win.

NEXT UP: MERRIMACK

• The Terriers will wrap up the non-conference schedule at Merrimack on Sunday, Dec. 29, with a 6 p.m. start time.
• BU will face the Warriors for the first time since claiming a 94-71 home win in 1984.
• Merrimack moved up to Division I this year as a new member of the Northeast Conference.
• The Warriors already own D1 wins against Northwestern, Army West Point, Hartford, UMass Lowell and Jacksonville.