LOWELL, MA - The NJIT men's basketball team was missing several key pieces on Thursday evening, but battled hard for 40 minutes before ultimately falling 70-62 to host UMass Lowell in America East action at the Costello Center. 

NJIT was without three key big men - including a starter in Kjell de Graaf and a pair of reserves in Daniel Schreier and Jeffey Akintolu - but overcame an early whole to lead by one, 35-34, at halftime. 

The Highlanders opened the second half with a three-pointer from Elijah Buchanan and another basket by Sebastian Robinson to go ahead by a game-high six, 40-34, early in the second half. 

UMass Lowell, picked to finish second in the America East, answered with a 12-0 run to take a six-point lead of its own with just over 13 minutes left to play.

The River Hawks extended their lead to as many as 12 mid-way through the half, but the Highlanders didn't go down without a fight, closing to within three, 60-57, as Justin Anderson connected on a pair of free throws with 4:19 left. 

UMass Lowell closed the game on a 10-5 run, however, to win the contest by the eight-point margin. 

The River Hawks took advantage of 36 free throw attempts in the game, while the Highlanders got to the line just 11 times as fouls were 24-12 in favor of the home team. 

Tariq Francis led the Highlanders with 15 points and also tied a team-high with six rebounds from his guard position. 

Francis was joined in double figures by Mekhi Gray and Buchanan, who finished with 14 points and 13 points, respectively. Gray also pulled down six rebounds and played the full 40 minutes, while Buchanan recorded a team-high five steals. 

NJIT also received valuable contributions from its three reserve big men Levi Lawal, Eyal Nankin, and JJ Chaikovsky. Lawal scored five points and grabbed four boards, while Nankin scored two points and pulled down three rebounds in 18 minutes of action off the bench. 

Brayden O'Connor led all scorers with 22 points for UML, going 5-of-6 from three-point range.

The Highlanders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Burlington to take on the league favorite Vermont Catamounts. Tip-off is slated for 2pm in Patrick Gymasium.