November 29 vs. Sacred Heart (7 p.m.)
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December 3 at NJIT (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team wraps up a six-game homestand that has spanned more than two weeks on Wednesday, November 29 when Sacred Heart comes to Costello Athletic Center. The River Hawks then play their first of three straight on the road on Sunday, December 3 at NJIT. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win on Wednesday would mark Head Coach
Pat Duquette's 50th career win. It would also give the River Hawks a 3-1 edge against Sacred Heart since moving to Division I. A win would be the sixth consecutive victory for the squad, matching its longest streak since 2014-15 (6 games). The victory would improve the team's home record to 6-0, good for its best home court start since 2009-10 (6-0). It would match the team's best overall start since 2012-13 (6-1), as well. Â
HOME SWEET HOME
UMass Lowell's homestand that spans the month of November marks the most consecutive home games for the program since 2003-04 (7). In 2017-18, the team has more home games than ever before at the Division I level (16). Including a 5-0 record this season, the River Hawks have accumulated a 118-64 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04. Â
LAST TIME OUT
Despite trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, UMass Lowell mounted an impressive comeback in the final 10 minutes of the outing to earn an 83-75 victory against Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 26. Down 66-56 with 10 still to go, junior
Ryan Jones hit a three that sparked 20 unanswered points over the next seven minutes for UMass Lowell, including a trio of long balls from senior
Matt Harris, to put the squad in front, 76-66. Harris finished with a game-high 19 points and five triples, while redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas earned his third double-double of the year with 17 points and 14 rebounds. R. Jones and sophomore
Rinardo Perry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through six games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 19.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.
Matt Harris (15.5),
Ryan Jones (12.3) and
Rinardo Perry (10.2) round out the team's scorers in double-digits. Redshirt-sophomore
Connor Bennett is shooting a team-best 66.7 percent (18-27) from the field, while S. Jones has dished out 24 assists and forced nine steals to lead the squad. Redshirt-junior
Josh Gantz is first on the team with eight blocks, as well. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 44.1 percent (166-376) from the field, 38.6 percent (49-127) from long range and 75.6 percent (121-160) from the foul line.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers are currently 2-4 on the young season, after splitting a pair of decisions last week. The squad defeated Mitchell, 84-60, on Nov. 22 at home before facing an 81-50 setback at Northwestern on Nov. 24. Mario Matasovic and Joseph Lopez are leading the offense with 12.7 and 12.5 point per game, respectively. E.J. Anosike has averaged a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game with four blocks so far, while Sean Hoehn paces the squad with 27 assists and nine steals. As a team, SHU is shooting 40.4 percent (141-349) from the field and 59.0 percent (69-117) from the foul line. Â
A DIFFERENCE ON DEFENSE
UMass Lowell has made defense its top priority in 2017-18 and the difference is apparent. The team set a new program Division I record with 56 rebounds, in addition to tying the record for blocks with eight against UMass Boston on Nov. 12. Against Cornell on Nov. 19, the team forced a season-high 22 turnovers. The River Hawks are currently ranked first in the America East and 40th in the nation with 17.2 turnovers forced per game. They are also fourth in the league for scoring defense (71.5) and third in rebounding margin (+3.7).
OFFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The River Hawks continue to boast a powerful offense, as they are second in the conference right now with an average of 83.7 points per game, in addition to leading the league with a +12.2 scoring margin compared to their opponents.
GOING STREAKING
In addition to the current five-game win streak that ranks tied for 22nd in the nation, the River Hawks have registered a three-point field goal in the last 104 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 1, 2014. Individually,
Jahad Thomas has scored at least 10 points in every game he's appeared in since Jan. 22, 2017 for a double-digit active scoring streak of 15 games, which ranks 12th in the country.
UNDER CONTROL
The River Hawks have been taking care of the ball this season with just 13.0 turnovers per game, compared to 15.3 per game last year. The team is leading the league with a +4.17 turnover margin and is second with a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio.
STEALING THE SHOW
Shawn Jones has given UMass Lowell a spark on the defensive end this year, tallying four steals in his debut at UMass. As a team, the River Hawks, who totaled 11 takeaways in the Nov. 19 win against Cornell, rank second in the league in steals per game (7.5).
HOT SHOT
Matt Harris has been hot from beyond the arc to start 2017-18. With a career-high tying seven three-pointers made against Marist on Nov. 15, he ranked as high as third in the nation this year for total long balls (13 - Nov. 16). All but five of his field goals this year have been triples (20-25), as he leads the America East with 3.3 per game.
DOUBLING UP
Jahad Thomas leads the league and is tied for 22nd in the country with three double-doubles this year.
SWEET SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked 35th in the nation for free throws made (121). The team is shooting 75.6 percent on free throws through six games, good for second in the America East. Individually,
Matt Harris paces the team with an 85.2 percent clip (23-27) from the line.
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