LOWELL, Mass. — Despite a career-high performance from Nyle Ralph-Beyer, the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team suffered an 87–82 road loss at UMass Lowell on Tuesday evening. The Pioneers' underclassmen shined, as four of the five double-figure scorers were first-years or sophomores.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 4–7 (1-1 MAAC)
UMass Lowell: 5-8 (0-0 AE)

Leaders:
Nyle Ralph-Beyer: 28 points, 4 rebounds
Mekhi Conner: 13 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Abdou Yadd: 12 points, 5 rebounds
Taj Bryant: 12 points, 4 rebounds
Dashon Gittens: 10 points, 4 rebounds

How it happened:
After trailing by five early, Ralph-Beyer converted a pair of free throws following a technical foul and sparked a personal 7–2 run to tie the game at 13–13. UMass Lowell responded with a three-pointer, but Yann Farell answered with a triple of his own to ignite a 9–0 Pioneer run, capped by an Abdou Yadd jumper to give Sacred Heart a 22–16 lead at the 12:15 mark.

The River Hawks countered with a run to regain a 24–22 advantage, but back-to-back three-pointers, an and-one free throw from Mekhi Conner, and a Farell jumper pushed Sacred Heart back in front, 31–24.

Lowell trimmed the deficit to four at the 2:17 mark, but buckets from Conner and Ralph-Beyer extended the lead to nine, 44–35. An and-one by the River Hawks closed the gap to six before Sacred Heart carried a 44–38 advantage into halftime.

UMass Lowell opened the second half with six straight points to tie the game at 44–44. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes, with neither side leading by more than three, until a River Hawks three-pointer gave the hosts a 60–56 edge at 11:24.

A free throw from Taj Bryant cut the deficit to three, but Lowell responded and built its largest lead of the half at eight, 68–60, with 6:24 remaining. Sacred Heart pulled within one late but was unable to regain the lead as UMass Lowell secured the 87–82 final.

Sacred Heart shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) from the field and 42.4 percent (14-for-33) from three-point range.

Of Note

• Ralph-Beyer scored a career-high 28 points and knocked down a career-best six three-pointers.
•  Dashon Gittens scored in double figures for the 10th time this season.
• Conner recorded five or more assists for the seventh consecutive game.
• Taj Bryant scored in double figures for the second time this season.

Up Next
Sacred Heart returns home on Friday, Dec. 19, at 11 a.m. to host Dartmouth for a Kids' Day game at the Pitt Center.