Saturday, January 10 vs. UAlbany (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team welcomes America East Conference opponent UAlbany to Costello Athletic Center for a 2 p.m. tilt on Saturday, January 10.

LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks currently own an 8-7 overall record, including a 2-0 mark in America East action, good for first in the league standings.

LAST TIME OUT
Freshman Matt Harris recorded a personal-best 17 points to pace UMass Lowell in a thrilling, 73-61 overtime victory at UMBC on Wednesday. Harris led three double-digit scorers off the bench. Sophomore Tyler Livingston  added 15 points, while freshman Brad Schaub posted a season-high 13 points, as well. UMass Lowell took advantage of an 11-minute UMBC scoring drought, and outscored the Retrievers 19-1 in the waning minutes to come back, force overtime and secure the win.

LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 15 games, redshirt-freshman Jahad Thomas leads the River Hawks with 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Graduate student Marco Banegas-Flores and freshman Lance Crawford have added to the offensive effort with 9.1 and 8.9 points, respectively, while senior Chad Holley averages 7.9 points of his own. Redshirt-senior Kerry Weldon helps lead the team on the glass with 5.1 rebounds per game. As a team, UMass Lowell is shooting 41.4% (319-771) from the floor and 35.8% (113-316) from beyond the arc. The squad is also shooting 67.4% (176-261) from the line.

SCOUTING UALBANY
The Great Danes have won their first two America East games to improve to 7-7 overall. The team earned an 80-56 win against Maine and a 64-62 victory at UNH. Peter Hooley leads the third-ranked scoring offense in the America East (65.4 ppg) with 14.1 points and 2.9 assists per game. Sam Rowley and Evan Singletary each average 12.9 and 12.4 points, respectively. Rowley leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game, while Singletary paces the squad with a 43.1% (28-65) clip from three-point range. Albany is shooting 43.2% (309-715) from the field and 36.5% (89-244) from long range.

SUPERIOR SUBS
At UMBC, UMass Lowell's bench players outscored the Retrievers', 51-1, to help the team come back to earn the overtime victory. The River Hawks' reserves have been pivotal this year, outscoring their opponents, 357-251. That's an average of +7.1 points per game.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES
Head Coach Pat Duquette has made it very clear that strong half-court defense is a foundation of his program. That was especially apparent in the team's last home game, as the River Hawks held Binghamton to just 40 points in the win. The team has earned five of its eight wins so far when scoring less than 70 points.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Six of the squad's eight wins so far have been decided by 10 points or less, including four by seven points or less. The team even trailed in the second half in five games before battling back to earn the victories.  

STEALING THE SHOW
The team is first in the AE with 6.7 steals per game. The River Hawks logged 15 steals at NJIT on Nov. 22 for the first time since reaching the mark against Adelphi on January 11, 2012. Kerry Weldon set a season-high mark for the team with five steals in the NJIT contest, which was also a career-best for him. Marco Banegas-Flores, who posted a career-high with four steals at Rhode Island, currently leads UMass Lowell with 29 this season.