Box Score ALBANY – Senior guard Robbie Walton converted a driving layup with 24 seconds left that put visiting UMass Lowell ahead to stay in a hard fought 68-66 Northeast-10 Conference victory over The College of Saint Rose on 'White Out Night' at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Golden Knights were thus unable to string together back-to-back wins, while the River Hawks have now won four straight.

Saint Rose (3-15/3-11 NE-10) overcame a 64-57 deficit with 5:36 to play by scoring seven unanswered points. Senior guard Rob Gutierrez buried a jumper, junior guard Andre Pope hit 1-of-2 from the stripe and then sophomore guard Kareem Thomas knocked down a pair of free throws to get the Golden Knights back to within a bucket. Pope then fed Thomas on a fast break to knot things at 64-64 with 1:35 left.

At the other end, sophomore forward Darrell Ward was fouled on a rebound. He hit the first of two free throws to give UMass Lowell (13-5/9-5 NE-10) a one point edge. However, Thomas answered with a jumper on the ensuing possession to give Saint Rose its first lead, 67-66, in more than 16 minutes. Walton provided the final dagger and sophomore guard Scotty Tavares-Taylor added a free throw with a second left to seal things after the Golden Knights failed to get a clean look in the waning moments.

Pope led three players in double-figures for Saint Rose with 17 points. Senior forward Brian Hanuschak chalked up his fourth “double-double” of the year behind 15 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Dominykas Milka contributed 12 points and seven boards in just 13 minutes off the bench.

Sophomore guard Akeem Williams paved the way for the River Hawks with a game-high 22 points. Tavares-Taylor and senior guard Dipanjot Singh added 13 points apiece.

The lead changed hands eight times throughout the opening 20 minutes. Milka knotted things at 37-37 for the seventh and final time of the period after he buried a pair from the charity stripe. Ward followed with a free throw of his own for UMass Lowell, but Thomas scored in transition and Gutierrez went 2-for-2 at the line to provide the Golden Knights with a 41-38 lead at the break.

Prior to tonight's contest, Gutierrez was presented with a commemorative ball acknowledging his entrance into the prestigious 1,000-point club. He is one of just 25 players in program history to accomplish that feat.

Looking ahead, both clubs resume their NE-10 schedule this Saturday afternoon. Saint Rose heads to Franklin Pierce University for a 1:30 pm tip-off, while the River Hawks are set to host the University of New Haven at 4:00 pm.

Note: At halftime of tonight's game, 62 student-athletes and seven teams were recognized for academic excellence during the past two semesters. Among those honored were the women's swimming and diving, and women's volleyball squads. The latter registered the highest collective GPA among programs with 15 members or less, while the swimming and diving team had the highest GPA among "large squads".