BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Cam Ward had 17 points and Vermont beat UMass Lowell 81-67 to win its eighth straight and remain undefeated in conference play on Thursday night.

Anthony Lamb added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Catamounts (16-5, 6-0 America East). Kurt Steidl scored 12 and Payton Henson 10.

Vermont trailed by nine early but closed the first half with a 14-4 run to lead 40-31. The Catamounts then went on to build their largest lead at 68-43 and went unthreatened through the final 12 minutes.

Ryan Jones led the River Hawks (8-12, 3-3) with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Four others scored at least eight without reaching double figures.

Steidl was 4 of 7 from 3-point range, Ward was 3 of 4 and the Catamounts were 9 of 20.

Both teams shot 27 of 57 from the field, but Vermont had a 41-30 edge on the glass.