Dec. 29, 2011

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Well-rested following 21 days off, the UMass Lowell men's basketball team, currently 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference, hosts Concordia (N.Y.) College Saturday in a non-conference clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

UMass Lowell brings a seven-game winning streak against non-conference opponents into Saturday's clash. The last time the River Hawks suffered a regular season non-conference loss was Jan. 14, 2010 at Wilmington University (74-63).

This season, UMass Lowell opened with wins over the University of Bridgeport (108-105) and Post University (60-50) in the UB Knights Classic; and a 92-68 home victory over Philadelphia on Nov. 19.

UMass Lowell's last action was a Dec. 10 setback at home to NE-10 surprise Franklin Pierce, 86-80, in which the River Hawks overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half but surrendered a 12-4 run over the final three minutes.

The River Hawks meet a Concordia team which is currently 5-5 overall and 2-2 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). The Clippers visit Bentley Friday night at 7:00 before heading to UMass Lowell Saturday.

Concordia is led by junior forward Argelix Gil who has averages of 19.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game while shooting .598 from the field and .854 from the free throw line. Gil is one of four Clippers scoring in double digits as junior guard Brandon Whitaker has registered 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game while sophomore G Norman Pope (12.6 ppg) and Lavor Morris (10.1 ppg) have also chipped in.

"Concordia is a very athletic and deep team that presents a lot of tough matchups defensively," said head coach Greg Herenda. "They have a very good scorer in Argelix Gil."

Prior to the loss to Franklin Pierce, UMass Lowell scored wins over Saint Anselm (82-79) and Merrimack (68-66) at home, which halted a three-game slide.

"We just need to continue to work hard on the basics and to defend much better," Herenda noted. "Historically, our offense comes from our defense and that is no different with this team. When we do that, we will start winning on a more consistent basis."

Sophomore guard Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) leads all UMass Lowell scorers with 18.9 points per game while junior forward Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) has added 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting .373 from 3-point range.

Senior guard Dipanjot Singh (Evanston, Ill.) and sophomore forward Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) have provided plenty of spark off the bench. Singh has registered 11.4 points per game while shooting .432 from long range while Bivins has chipped in 10.9 points while shooting .571 from the field.

UMass Lowell leads the all-time series against Concordia, 3-0, extended last year with a 95-68 victory at the Costello Athletic Center. Prior, the two teams met Dec. 30, 2000 as the River Hawks came away with an 84-48 victory at the Saint Michael's Doc Jacobs Classic; and a 93-71 win on Nov. 19, 1994 at UMass Lowell's New England Tip-Off.

The River Hawks jump right back into NE-10 action this week with a home clash against American International College Tuesday (7:30) and an away date Saturday at Southern Connecticut (3:30).