For the first time in conference history, the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds will play for the America East men’s basketball title as No. 6 UMass Lowell and No. 4 Hartford spurred upset wins on Saturday in the America East semifinals.

Both teams are seeking their first-ever conference title.

The sixth-seeded River Hawks came back from 16 points down to stun top-seeded UMBC, 79-77, while the fourth-seeded Hartford Hawks shot lights out on their way to a 71-65 upset win at second-seeded Vermont. It’s the first time in conference history that neither of the top two seeds will reach the championship game.

UMass Lowell will visit Hartford next Saturday, March 13 in a battle for a conference championship at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The league champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The River Hawks trailed 51-35 with 15:34 left but scored 44 points over the game’s final 15 minutes.

Obadiah Noel’s free throws with 40 seconds left broke a 76-all tie and gave the River Hawks their first lead since early in the game.

Connor Withers scored a career-high 28 points and tied the tournament record with nine three-pointers. Obadiah Noel, a first-team All=Conference selection, added 22 points.

First-team all-leaguer R.J. Eytle-Rock led UMBC with 18 points.

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