North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts gestures to the team during the first half of Thursday's game against UMass-Lowell, Thursday in Uncasville, Conn. (AP photo)

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – UMass-Lowell Sophomore Darion Jordan-Thomas (Brockton, Mass.) notched a team- and season-high 12 points in a 90-59 loss against North Carolina State Thursday at the Bubbleville Tournament hosted by Mohegan Sun.

“We ran into a very athletic and hot-shooting NC State team, who controlled the game right from the start,” said Head Coach Pat Duquette. “In saying that, our defensive energy was not what it needs to be and we made too many uncharacteristic mistakes against an ACC team to expect to compete. Hopefully, we learned from today and will use it to get better and prepare ourselves for league play.”

Jordan-Thomas shot 5-for-8 from the field, in addition to pacing the team with five rebounds. Graduate student Salif Boudie (Bamako, Mali) logged a season-best 10 points, while senior Obadiah Noel (Frederick, Md.) rounded out the 10-point scorers with his 30th consecutive double-digit performance.

Devon Daniels scored 18 points, Cam Hayes and Jericole Hellems each had 17 points to pace N.C. State.

A pair of offensive rebounds and a triple from sophomore Ron Mitchell (Philadelphia, Pa.) gave UMass Lowell the first points of the night. Although the Wolfpack followed with eight unanswered, Jordan-Thomas and Noel banked in back-to-back layups to pull within one, 8-7, with 15:20 remaining in the first half.

North Carolina State took its first double-digit margin three minutes later, and even though freshman Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) followed with a bucket, the Wolfpack pulled away with a 16-2 run to take a 39-15 edge at 2:47. Jordan-Thomas and sophomore Kalil Thomas (New Orleans, La.) combined for the River Hawks’ next five points, but NC State took a 43-19 buffer into the break.

Boudie completed a three-point play for the River Hawks to start the second half before NC State worked to create its largest lead of the contest, 75-41, with 8:29 to go. Rookie Anthony Blunt (Bowie, Md.) made his collegiate debut late in the half and scored his first seven points to provide a spark, as the team scored 33 points off the bench in the Thursday night decision.

The River Hawks are back in action on Saturday, December 5 when they host Bryant in their home opener at 5:30 p.m.

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