On the heels of a career milestone, UMass Lowell men’s basketball standout Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) has been named both America East Player of the Week and River Hawk of the Week.
Thomas, who helped lead the River Hawks to a 2-0 start in conference play last week, became the program's 40th player ever to surpass 1,000 career points and the first to do so at the Division I level in a 79-75 win at Binghamton on January 8. In that contest, the guard/forward turned in personal-best marks for points (28) and field goals (12), while adding 15 rebounds and five assists.
Earlier in the week, the Williamsport, Pa. native tied a career high with eight assists, and tallied 13 points and five rebounds in an 85-79 victory against UAlbany that marked the River Hawks’ first win against the Great Danes since 2013-14.
Combined, he averaged an unmatched 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, and shot a 70.8 percent (17-24) clip from the floor through those two performances.
So far this season, Thomas is pacing all America East players with 8.9 rebounds per game. Additionally, he is first on his team with 17.3 points per game, 66 assists and 26 steals. He now totals four double-doubles on the year and six 20-point scoring games.
This marks the second consecutive America East Player of the Week nod for Thomas, who is currently fourth among the league’s active career scoring leaders with 1,003 points. It is also the second time he has been honored as River Hawk of the Week this year. The "River Hawk of the Week" is chosen each week in voting by the UMass Lowell Athletic Communications staff. It honors the top athlete, male or female, based on performance during the previous week of competition.
