January 21 at Binghamton (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team wraps up its two-game trip to New York at America East foe Binghamton on Sunday, January 20.  Â
A WIN WOULD
A win on Sunday would snap a seven-game skid, the team's longest since 1997-98. It would also mark the team's first conference win of the year, as well as it's first road win since Jan. 8, 2017.
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas recorded a team-high 22 points, as UMass Lowell was outlasted by UAlbany, 70-62, on Jan. 18. The River Hawks made it a two-point game at 57-55 on a three from sophomore
Rinardo Perry with less than five minutes to go, but were unable to come any closer. The performance marked Thomas' second consecutive 22-point showing. Perry chipped in with 13 points, while junior
Ryan Jones totaled nine points and a season-high six assists. As a team, the River Hawks shot 53 percent (16-30) from the field in a strong second half.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 18 games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 19.1 points and 7.9 rebounds. He also boasts team-best marks for assists (59) and steals (27). Senior
Matt Harris (11.7),
Rinardo Perry (10.3) and
Ryan Jones (10.2) round out the team's scorers in double-digits.
Josh Gantz, who is shooting 47.0 (55-117) from the field, is first with 23 blocks. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 44.8 percent (461-1030) from the field, 33.7 percent (127-377) from long range and 70.3 percent (294-418) from the foul line.
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats are an even 10-10 overall in 2017-18 with a 1-4 mark in America East play. Binghamton split its last two outings, first defeating UAlbany, 79-66 on Jan. 15 before falling, 77-66 at Stony Brook on Jan . 18. J.C. Show is leading three double-digit scorers for the squad with 14.6 points per game. Thomas Bruce has added 12.0 points per game with a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game. Bruce also leads the team with 52 blocks, while Show is first with 27 steals. Timmy Rose has been the primary playmaker for the squad with 70 assists. As a whole, Binghamton is shooting 47.1 percent (533-1131) from the floor, 36.6 percent (159-434) from three-point range) and 65.2 percent (238-365) from the line.
GAINS FOR GANTZ
Josh Gantz has come on strong as of late. After averaging 5.5 points per game through the first eight games of the year, he has averaged 9.7 in the last 10, including a career-high 19 points at Hartford on Jan. 10. Additionally, 30 of his 40 assists, and 13 of his 17 threes this year have come in the most recent 10 outings. His field goal percentage has also improved from 42 percent (17-41) to 50 percent (38-76).
SWEET SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked third in the conference for free throws made (294) and fourth for free throw percentage (70.3)Â through 18 games. Individually,
Matt Harris is also third in the league with an 85.2 percent clip (52-61) from the line, while Harris (vs. BU, 12.13) and
Obadiah Noel (at Wagner, 12.5) have each drained a season-high 11 free throws in a single game.
A BUMPY ROAD
The River Hawks, who play 13 games away from friendly confines in 2017-18, have struggled on the road as of late. The team is in the midst of a 14-game road skid dating back to Jan. 8, 2017. As a program, UMass Lowell has accumulated a 90-125 road record since 2003-04.
OFFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The River Hawks continue to boast a powerful offense, as they are fourth in the conference right now with an average of 74.6 points per game and fifth with a 44.8 field goal percentage.
UNDER CONTROL
With just 13.4 turnovers per game, the River Hawks have been taking care of the ball this season. The team is second in the league with a +1.56 turnover margin.
STEALING THE SHOW
On Dec. 13,
Rinardo Perry became the first River Hawk to log five steals in a game since
Mark Cornelius did so on Nov. 18, 2015.
Jahad Thomas is 89th in the nation right now with 1.8 steals per game. As a team, the River Hawks, who totaled 11 takeaways in the Nov. 19 win against Cornell, rank third in the league in steals per game (7.1).
SOPHOMORE STRIDES
Rinardo Perry has made great strides in his game during his second campaign with the River Hawks. The guard, who shot 35 percent from the floor for 4.3 points per game as a rookie, is now averaging 10.3 points with a 44 percent clip from the floor. With a total of 13 three-pointers all of last season, the sophomore already has 19 in 2017-18.
BLOCK PARTY
The River Hawks are currently averaging their most blocks per game (3.4) since 2012-13. They are also third in the America East right now, led by
Josh Gantz with 1.3 per game.
HELPING HANDS
One key to the River Hawks' balanced scoring has always been their ability to share the basketball, as witnessed by the team's season-high 20 helpers dished out against CCSU on Dec. 23. The squad is third in the America East rankings with 14.1 assists per game.
GOING STREAKING
The team's five-game win streak from Nov. 12-26 was the program's longest since 2014-15 (6 games). The streak also gave the team its best home court start since 2009-10 (6-0). Current active streaks for the team include having registered a three-point field goal in the last 116 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 1, 2014.
LEADING THE WAY
Jahad Thomas, who was named America East Player of the Week on both Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, ranks among the America East's active career leaders for several categories. He is currently first in the league for career steals (143), second for points (1581) and assists (336), and third for rebounds (754). Classmate
Matt Harris has also jumped onto the active leaders list, as he now ranks seventh for career points (1047).
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