Tuesday, November 25 vs. Mount Ida (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's basketball team will host Mount Ida College in its 2014-15 home opener on Tuesday, November 25. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks wrapped up a five-game road swing with three games last week. The team swept all three contests, picking up wins at Sacred Heart (57-54), NJIT (63-61) and Fordham (64-57), to improve to 3-2 so far this year. UMass Lowell's outing against Mount Ida will mark the team's fourth contest in six days.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) led four double-digit scorers for the UMass Lowell men's basketball team with 14 points in a 64-57 victory at Fordham of the Atlantic 10 on Sunday evening. The teams were battling back and forth throughout the game until a 13-2 UMass Lowell run put the game out of reach. Redshirt-senior Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.) and redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas (Williamsport, Pa.) added 12 points each, while senior Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points of his own.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through five games, Jahad Thomas leads the River Hawks with 14.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Freshman Lance Crawford (Davie, Fla.) and Marco Banegas-Flores have added to the offensive effort with 10.2 and 8.4 points, respectively. Kerry Weldon, who averages 7.0 points, is second on the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. As a team, UMass Lowell is shooting 39.7% (106-267) from the floor and 31.9% (30-94) from beyond the arc. The squad is also shooting 57.0% (53-93) from the line.
 
SCOUTING MOUNT IDA
Mount Ida, a Division III member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, owns a 1-2 record so far in 2014-15. The team split a pair of games last week, defeating Hunter, 70-68, on November 21 before falling to Amherst, 100-72, on November 22. Joey DeFillippi is averaging 13.3 points per game to pace the team. Kevin Conner and John Oliver add 9.3 and 9.0 points per game respectively. Conner is also first on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game. Combined, the Mustangs are shooting 46.5% (72-155) from the field, including 32.7% (18-55) from three-point territory, and 68.8% (55-80) on free throws.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's contest between UMass Lowell and Mount Ida marks just the second meeting between the two schools in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks earned a 73-45 victory when the teams first met on January 1, 2013.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Although the River Hawks have only 11 home games this year, the squad has a history of performing well in friendly confines. In the last 10 seasons, UMass Lowell has accumulated a 93-48 mark in Lowell. Despite finishing .500 (6-6) on their own turf in 2013-14, the River Hawks have notched at least 10 home wins in five of those last 10 years.
 
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
All three of the squad's wins so far have been decided by seven points or less. The team even trailed in the second half at both NJIT and Fordham before battling back to earn the victories. 
 
UNDER CONTROL
The River Hawks posted a season low for turnovers at Sacred Heart with just six. The team currently leads the America East with just 11.4 turnovers per game and a turnover margin of +4.4.
 
STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM
Despite being picked ninth in the 2014-15 America East Preseason Coaches Poll, the River Hawks have steadily climbed in the standings to second overall. The squad proved the polls wrong last season, as well, when they were also selected ninth out of nine teams, but finished their first season in the league in fifth place with an 8-8 record.