Sunday, February 14 vs. UMBC (12 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is currently 10-15 overall and 6-6 in America East play, will look for its third straight win when the squad hosts UMBC on Valentine's Day, Sunday, February 14. Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m.
LAST TIME OUTSophomore
Matt Harris set new career highs with 33 points, 10 field goals and seven three-pointers to lead UMass Lowell to an exciting, 108-95 overtime win at Maine on Feb. 11. Down by three with just seconds to play in a game that saw a total of 20 lead changes, Harris sunk the last bucket of regulation to force overtime. The River Hawks' offense then took control in the extra period, scoring 14 unanswered points in the first three minutes to put the decision out of Maine's reach. Redshirt sophomore
Jahad Thomas added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year, while freshman
Logan Primerano logged new personal bests with 27 points and eight rebounds. Classmate
Isaac White rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and five assists on the night. Redshirt freshman
Josh Gantz tallied a season-high six assists, as well. Â
LEADING THE FLOCKThrough 25 games in 2015-16,
Jahad Thomas leads the squad with 13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, in addition to 30 steals on the year.
Isaac White follows with 11.4 points per game, while
Matt Harris averages 10.8 points with a team-best 44.9 shooting percentage (48-107) from beyond the arc and 88.9 clip (40-45) from the foul line. Junior
Tyler Livingston chips in with 8.1 points, and
Josh Gantz is first on the team with 22 blocks. As a whole, UMass Lowell is shooting 46.8 percent (692-1478) from the floor, 37.8 percent (216-572) from beyond the arc and 67.9 percent (318-468) on free throws.
SCOUTING UMBCUMBC heads into Sunday's contest at 6-20 overall and 3-8 in America East action after splitting a pair of decisions last week. The Retrievers took home an 83-79 victory at Maine on Feb. 5, before being bested, 75-52, by Stony Brook on Feb. 11. Leading the squad is sophomore Jairus Lyles, who boasts a team highs for points (24.5), boards (5.7) and steals (2.5) per game so far this season. Classmate Rodney Elliot is handing out a team-best 3.5 helpers per game, while averaging 12.8 points. Through 26 games, UMBC is posting 72.0 points per game by shooting 44.1 percent (245-555) from the field, including 32.6 percent (67-207) from long range, and 69.7 percent (163-234) from the line.
SERIES HISTORYSunday's contest marks the sixth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and UMBC in the sport of men's basketball. The River Hawks remain undefeated in the all-time series (5-0) after picking up a 95-89 overtime win earlier this year on Jan. 13.
ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKEDTyler Livingston reached the 500 point milestone and
Jahad Thomas logged his 300th career rebound at Hartford on Feb. 3.
Mark Cornelius recorded his 100th career assist and 50th career steal against Binghamton on Jan. 24. In the team's win at UMBC on Jan. 16,
Matt Harris reached 400 career points and Livingston achieved 200 rebounds. Previously this year,
Jahad Thomas surpassed 500 points against Maine on Jan. 13, while
Mark Cornelius attained 300 career points at SBU, as well.
PUT IT ON THE BOARDThe River Hawks logged back-to-back games with 100 points for the first time in program history in their most recent victories against Vermont on Feb. 8 and Maine on Feb. 11. Those decisions also marked UMass Lowell's first ever 100-point performances against Division I opponents. The squad's 108 points at Maine was the most points in a single game since 2011 (109 vs. Concordia), as well.
A THREAT ON THREESUMass Lowell is strong from beyond the arc for the second straight season. The team posted a season-high 16 threes at Maine on Feb. 11, marking the most for the program since Feb. 8, 2003 (18, vs. Merrimack). The squad is currently second in the America East for 3FGs made (8.6) and 3FG percentage (37.8). On Feb. 6,
Isaac White became the first River Hawk to knock down six three-pointers in a game since 2012 (Matt Welch vs Philadelphia) and on Feb. 11,
Matt Harris became the first player to hit seven since 2008 (Kevin Carr vs. Post). Through 25 games, White paces the team with 60 three-pointers.
ON-TARGETThe River Hawks are shooting well from the floor this year, boasting a league-best 11 games shooting at least 50.0 percent. The team currently owns a 46.8 field goal percentage that puts them third in the league.
HOME SWEET HOMEAlthough the River Hawks have only 12 home games this year, the squad has a history of performing well in friendly confines. The team opened the year going 4-1 in Lowell, marking the program's best home record to start a season during the Division I era. With the 5-5 home record this year, UMass Lowell has accumulated a 104-58 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
CHANGING IDENTITYFollowing the high-scoring thriller against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18, Coach Duquette commented that this year's team has a different identity from his teams in the past because they have the ability to score a lot of points, whereas his squads are typically defensively oriented. So far this season, the River Hawks are averaging 76.7 points per game (third in the AE), compared to 61.4 points in 2014-15.
HELPING HANDSOn Nov. 24 against Wheelock, UMass Lowell recorded 25 assists as a team for the first time since 2009, when the team posted 32 against Division II Mercy (11/15/09).
Jahad Thomas logged a single-game high for the team this year with seven helpers at Boston College on Dec. 6. and at UConn on Dec. 20. As a whole, the River Hawks are second in the America East with 15.0 assists per game.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORTUMass Lowell has earned several last-minute wins already this year for a 7-2 record in games decided by six points or less, as well as a 2-0 mark in overtime games. Since 2014-15, 16 of the squad's most recent 21 wins have been decided by 10 points or less, including 14 by seven points or less. The team has even trailed in the second half in 15 games before battling back to earn the victories. Â
EVERYONE CONTRIBUTESHaving such a young team means everyone has to play a role. That was especially evident when the River Hawks' bench provided 63 points in the win at Maine on Feb. 11. So far this season, the bench has been pivotal, outscoring their opponents, 765-573. In addition, the team has already logged 15 games with at least four double-digit scorers this year, including one game with six double-digit scorers (at Vermont, Jan. 18), marking the first time that had happened since Dec. 1, 2012 vs. Merrimack.
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