January 19 at Vermont (7 p.m.)
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BURLINGTON, Vt. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is currently 8-11 overall and 3-2 in America East action in 2016-17, heads to Vermont for a weeknight clash on Thursday.  

LAST TIME OUT
Although the UMass Lowell men's basketball team was within two points of the lead with five minutes to play, the visiting Stony Brook Seawolves (9-8, 4-0 AE) were able to pull away down the stretch to take an 86-75 win on Monday afternoon, Jan. 16.  Redshirt-junior Jahad Thomas logged his fourth straight game with double figures for points and rebounds, totaling 18 and 15, respectively. Senior Tyler Livingston led the River Hawks in the contest with 23 points, going 5-for-10 from long range. Sophomore Ryan Jones, who finished the day with 16 points and classmate Logan Primerano, who recorded 10, rounded out the team's double-digit scorers.

LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 19 games in 2016-17, Jahad Thomas leads the squad with 17.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, 83 assists and 28 steals. Thomas is one of four River Hawks scoring in double figures this season, as Tyler Livingston follows closely with 14.6 points per game, and junior Matt Harris and Ryan Jones chip in with 11.4 and 11.0, respectively. Livingston is first on the team with 53 three-pointers in 2016-17, while Harris boasts a 93.3 percent clip (56-60) from the line. Logan Primerano, who adds 7.2 points per game, totals a team-best seven blocks on the year, as well. As a whole, UMass Lowell is shooting 47.3 percent (521-1102) from the floor, 37.2 percent (150-403) from beyond the arc and 78.5 percent (288-367) from the foul line.

SCOUTING VERMONT
The Catamounts own a 15-5 overall record this season, including an undefeated, 5-0 mark in America East games. The squad is in the midst of a seven-game win streak after picking up an 81-72 decision against UMBC on Jan. 13 and a 71-59 victory at New Hampshire on Jan. 16. Payton Henson is first on the team with 11.8 points per game, while Trae Bell-Haynes chips in with 11.6 points and Anthony Lamb adds 10.1. Henson also boasts a team-best mark with 5.7 rebounds and Bell-Haynes totals 72 assists. Lamb is leading the squad with 18 blocks so far this year. The Catamounts are shooting 48.6 percent (540-1111) from the floor and 36.0 percent (129-358) from three-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's contest marks the seventh meeting between UMass Lowell and Vermont in the sport of men's basketball. The Catamounts lead the all-time series, 4-2, but the River Hawks swept both games last year, including a 100-93 victory on Feb. 8.

A WIN WOULD
A win against the Catamounts would mark the third in a row for the River Hawks in the all-time series against Vermont. It would also unseat one of the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the America East.

SWEET SPOT
UMass Lowell has made the most of its opportunities at the line so far this season. The squad tallied 32 made free throws in the win against Wagner on Nov. 14, marking the most in a single game for the program since Jan. 4, 1995 (43 vs. Assumption). The team is currently shooting 78.5 percent (288-367) from the charity stripe, good for first in the conference. Individually, Matt Harris, who was perfect through the first five games of the season, is leading the way for the team with 93.3 percent clip (56-60) on free throws.

WHAT IF
If the River Hawks were through the Division I transition and could be officially ranked in statistical categories by the NCAA, they would be tied for sixth in the nation for free throw percentage (78.5%). Additionally, Matt Harris would sit fourth for his 93.3 free throw percentage.

JOINING THE CLUB
On Jan. 8, Jahad Thomas became the 40th player in program history to join the prestigious 1,000 Point Club and the first to do so at the Division I level. In that contest, a road win at Binghamton, he scored a career-high 28 points, including the layup that eclipsed the 1,000 point milestone with just 1:47 left on the game clock. He then surpassed 500 career rebounds at Maine on Jan. 11 to become just the ninth player in program history to tally over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Currently boasting 1,057 career points, he ranks fourth among the America East's active career scoring leaders.

TRIPLING DOWN
Not only has Jahad Thomas logged four straight games with double-digit points and rebounds, but he also set a new career high with 10 assists on Jan. 14 en route to his first ever triple-double (19 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists). The performance goes down as the first triple-double of the modern era for UMass Lowell, and the first on record in program history since Hank Brown did so for Lowell Tech in 1967.

HIGH SCORING AFFAIRS
The River Hawks, who posted a season-high 98 points at Cornell, have become accustomed to high-scoring games. After averaging a league-best 76.6 points per game in 2015-16,  the team is averaging 77.9 points per game to sit second in the conference.

STEPPING UP
Several River Hawks have stepped up to fill the void left by two-year starter Isaac White, who will miss the remainder of the season. Logan Primerano has helped lead that charge by improving from just 4.4 points per game through the first 10 games to an average of 10.2 points in the most recent nine outings.

ON TARGET
The River Hawks have consistently taken the right shots, having gone at least 50.0 percent from the floor already six times this season. The team is third in the conference right now, shooting 47.3 percent overall. Jahad Thomas, who is first overall in the league and 18th in the nation, owns a team-best 60.5 percent clip (127-210) from the field. UMass Lowell has outshot its opponent in 13 of its 19 games thus far.

HELPING HANDS
One key to the River Hawks' balanced scoring is their ability to share the basketball. This year, the squad is averaging 15.9 assists per game to lead the America East. UMass Lowell is led by Jahad Thomas with a total of 83 helpers so far.

HOARDING THE BOARDS
With a Division I-high 53 boards in the team's win against Hartford, the squad logged its most rebounds in a game since 2012 (52 vs. Bentley). The team has already pulled down at least 40 rebounds in five games, exceeding the number of times that it did so all of last season. Jahad Thomas, who leads the league with 9.8 total rebounds and 7.4 defensive rebounds per game, ranks second among active career leaders in the America East with a total of 543.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The River Hawks' thrilling, last-second victories against BU (77-75) and Cornell (98-96) marked the team's smallest margin of victory this year. The team is familiar with close games, though, as 11 of the 17 total decisions so far this season have come down to 10 points or less. Since beginning 2014-15, 19 of the squad's 30 wins have been decided by seven points or less. The team has even trailed in the second half in 20 games during that time frame before battling back to earn the victories.  

EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
Having such a young team means everyone has to play a role. Twelve of the team's games so far have included at least four players in double figures, with five River Hawks boasting over 10 points in five games, including back-to-back outings against Loyola and Cornell.

ROAD WARRIORS
The River Hawks play 17 of their 31 games in 2016-17 away from friendly confines, including five of their first six. The team is still looking for its first true road win of the year, having picked up its lone victory away from home this season in a neutral-site contest vs. Mississippi Valley State. UMass Lowell has accumulated an 90-113 road record since 2003-04.