LOWELL, Mass. (November 29, 2025) – Emerson College battled University of Massachusetts Lowell in its final tuneup before opening conference play next week with the Division I River Hawks needing a late run to close out a 90-67 victory in a men's basketball exhibition at Kennedy Family Court this afternoon.

Senior Jacob Armant and junior Shay Roban each netted a game-high 21 points to lead Emerson. Armant scored 11 of the Lions 22 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting, draining his lone three-point attempt, while Roban netted all 21 of his points off the bench in the second half, burying all five three-point attempts as part of 8-of-9 shooting overall in the frame as the Lions remained competitive with their Division I opposition. Armant also contributed four rebounds, three assists and a steal, while Roban chipped in a pair of rebounds.

Postgrad Asher Gardiner added eight points and three assists for Emerson, while junior Caden Zurek pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

Roban drained all five three-point attempts on his way to 21 second half points for the Lions (PHOTO BY Kelly Chen, '25/Emerson Athletics)

Freshman JJ Massaquoi led four from UMass Lowell in double figures with a game-high matching 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and four rebounds. Senior Austin Green and freshman Victor Okojie each contributed double-doubles for the River Hawks with Green totaling 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds with two assists, while Okozie tallied 15 points and ten boards off the bench. Junior Jared Frey rounded out UML's double-figure scorers with 18 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Emerson held an early advantage against its Division I opponent, scoring the first five points and seven of the first eight behind five points by Armant over the first 90-seconds. UMass Lowell scored seven-straight to grab its first lead of the contest (8-7) with an Okojie dunk five minutes in, but the Lions answered with an Armant jumper with 14:21 to play in the half. Neither team scored over the following two minutes before Green sparked a 9-2 spurt with a dunk two minutes later that saw the River Hawks grab a ten point lead (21-11) following a layup from junior Angel Montas, Jr. (La Romania, Dominican Republic) with 9:35 to go.

Emerson would not go away quietly with senior Brendan McNamara hitting a triple at the other end to pull back within seven (21-14). UMass Lowell would use a 13-4 run in the closing five minutes of the half to open a 40-22 halftime cushion following a Frey three-pointer in the final minute. Frey opened the second half with a triple to stretch the lead to 21 points and UMass Lowell appeared poised to pull away from there, extending its lead to 26 (52-26) after a Green layup less than four minutes into the frame.

Three-straight Roban three-pointers pulled Emerson back within 17 (60-43) with 12:06 still to play and the Lions closed the deficit down to 13 (70-57) after a three-point play by Gardiner with seven minutes still to play. Emerson was still within 13 (76-63) after a pair of baskets from sophomore Giulio Volonte, but UMass Lowell scored 11-straight out of the final media timeout, including five from Massaquoi, to seal the win.

Noteworthy

• Emerson's exhibition game was a counter for UMass Lowell, who posted its second-straight win.
• Armant scored in double figures for the fifth game this year and in addition to scoring half of Emerson's 22 first half points, netted 19 of the Lions first 32 points and had 21 of their 45 points over the first 30 minutes of the game.
• Roban's 21 points are eight higher than his career-high of 13 set at MIT as a first-year and his sixth career double-figure scoring game, canning three-plus three-pointers for the fourth time in his career.
• The Lions turned the ball over a season-low eight times.
• Emerson made 7-of-13 (53.8%) three-pointers in the second half, sparked by Roban's 5-for-5 from long distance, as part of 47.2% shooting in the half overall.
• UMass Lowell went to the free-throw line 42 times in the contest and outscored Emerson 31-8 at the stripe for the afternoon.
• Emerson scored 45 second half points and was outscored by the River Hawks by just five over the final 20-minutes.
• UMass Lowell head coach Pat Duquette was a Division III student-athlete at Williams College ('93) and long-time assistant coach at Boston College, Emerson head coach Bill Curley's alma mater ('94), under Al Skinner shortly after Curley's Eagles career.

Up Next
Emerson (2-3, 0-0 NEWMAC) returns to action on Wednesday when it opens NEWMAC play at the United States Coast Guard Academy at 5:30 p.m. The Lions return home next Saturday, December 3, to host Wheaton College for a NEWMAC clash on Hank Smith Court at 1 p.m. UMass Lowell (3-6, 0-0 America East) visits UMass next Saturday at 4 p.m.

For the latest on Emerson Athletics, follow the Lions via social media on Instagram and online at emersonlions.com powered by SIDEARM Sports.