Wednesday, February 24 at UAlbany (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is currently 11-17 overall and 7-8 in America East play, looks to send their seniors off with a win when they host UAlbany in their season finale on Wednesday, February 24 at the Tsongas Center.
SENIOR NIGHT CEREMONY AND GIVEAWAYThe River Hawks' two seniors,
Mark Cornelius and
DJ Mlachnik, will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony for Senior Night on Wednesday. In addition, the first 500 students will receive a free t-shirt!
LAST TIME OUTFreshman
Isaac White registered a game-high 20 points to pace UMass Lowell in a closely-contested, 81-77 loss at Binghamton on Saturday, Feb. 20. White knocked down five three-pointers on the day as one of four scorers in double figures for the River Hawks. Redshirt sophomore
Jahad Thomas finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, to lead both teams on the glass. Freshmen
Logan Primerano and
Ryan Jones chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as well. The Bearcats jumped in front early and the River Hawks worked to close the gap for much of the contest. The visitors pulled within a basket with 6:32 to play, but Binghamton used a late run to seal the decision.
LEADING THE FLOCKThrough 28 games in 2015-16,
Jahad Thomas leads the squad with 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, in addition to 37 steals on the year.
Isaac White follows with 11.8 points per game and a team-best 43.9 shooting percentage (69-157) from beyond the arc, while sophomore
Matt Harris averages 10.1 points with an 89.4 clip (42-47) from the foul line. Junior
Tyler Livingston chips in with 7.6 points, and redshirt freshman
Josh Gantz is first on the team with 27 blocks. As a whole, UMass Lowell is shooting 47.1 percent (775-1645) from the floor, 37.2 percent (236-634) from beyond the arc and 69.1 percent (374-541) on free throws.
SCOUTING UALBANYUAlbany enters Wednesday's contest with a 22-7 overall record and an 11-3 mark in America East action after taking home a pair of wins last week. The Great Danes defeated Maine at home, 108-64, on Feb. 14 before taking down top-ranked conference foe Stony Brook, 82-70, on Feb. 17. Seniors Evan Singletary and Peter Hooley, lead the team with 12.9 and 12.8 points per game, respectively. Singletary is also first on the squad in steals (36) and assists (85), while junior Mike Rowley is boasts a team-high 6.3 boards per game. As a unit, UAlbany is posting 75.3 points and shooting 46.3 percent (731-1580) from the floor, including 33.1 percent (165-499) three-point range.
SERIES HISTORYWednesday's contest marks the 15th meeting between UMass Lowell and UAlbany in the sport of men's basketball. The all-time series is currently tied, 7-7, although the Great Danes earned a 75-63 victory when the teams met earlier this year on Jan. 27.
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ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKEDMatt Harris reached 500 career points at New Hampshire on Feb. 17. On Feb. 14 against UMBC,
Mark Cornelius attained 400 career points. Cornelius also recorded his 100th career assist and 50th career steal against Binghamton on Jan. 24. Previously this year,
Tyler Livingston reached the 500 point milestone and
Jahad Thomas logged his 300th career rebound at Hartford on Feb. 3. In the team's win at UMBC on Jan. 16, Livingston achieved 200 rebounds. Additionally, Thomas surpassed 500 points against Maine on Jan. 13, 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 3FG percentage (37.2) and for 3FGs made (8.4). 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 29games, White paces the team with 69 three-pointers.
HIGH SCORING AFFAIRSFollowing 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 77.1 points per game (first in the AE), compared to 61.4 points in 2014-15.
ON-TARGETThe River Hawks are shooting well from the floor this year, boasting a league-best 12 games shooting at least 50.0 percent. The team currently owns a 47.1 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 6-5 home record this year, UMass Lowell has accumulated a 105-58 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
PLAYING AT TSONGAS Â UMass Lowell owns a 3-8 all-time record at the Tsongas Center. Most recently, the squad dropped a 64-57 decision against Binghamton in the arena on Jan. 24. The River Hawks picked up their first ever Division I victory at Tsongas earlier this season on Nov. 18 with its 87-84 victory against Sacred Heart before falling to BU (80-60) on Dec. 10 and New Hampshire (78-76) on Jan. 21. Previously, they defeated Division II NE-10 rival Merrimack in 2010 (71-70) and 2011 (68-66), but fell three times at Tsongas in 2013-14 (Duquesne, New Hampshire and Stony Brook) and twice in 2014-15 (Vermont and New Hampshire).
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 14.6 assists per game.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORTUMass Lowell has earned several last-minute wins already this year for an 8-3 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 22 wins have been decided by 10 points or less, including 15 by seven points or less. The team has even trailed in the second half in 16 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, 861-650. In addition, the team has already logged 16 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.
HOARDING THE BOARDSWith more size in the lineup this year, the River Hawks are focusing on pulling down more rebounds. In the team's win against Cornell on Nov. 29, the squad grabbed a season-high 46 boards, a number they beat just once in 2014-15. UMass Lowell is averaging 32.9 rebounds per game compared to 28.9 rebounds last year. Additionally, the team has already outrebounded its opponent nine times in 2015-16, surpassing the total number of times its did so during all of 2014-15.
STEALING THE SHOWThe River Hawks posted 15 steals against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18, while forcing 25 turnovers. In that outing, the squad was led by
Mark Cornelius, who logged a career-high with five takeaways. The team as a whole is second in the America East with 7.1 steals per game.
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