January 24 vs. Stony Brook (5 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team welcomes Stony Brook to Costello Athletic Center for a Wednesday night matchup beginning at 7 p.m. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win on Wednesday would mark the team's second consecutive America East win. It would also snap Stony Brook's 8-0 run in the all-time series and give the River Hawks their first win against the Seawolves since 1999. Â
LAST TIME OUT
Senior
Matt Harris logged a team-high 24 points to lead UMass Lowell to its first America East victory of the season, 79-71, at Binghamton on Jan. 21. Five of Harris' nine field goals came from beyond the arc in the outing. Four teammates joined him in double figures, including redshirt-junior
Josh Gantz (Grove City, Ohio), who tied career highs with 19 points and three steals. Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas chipped in with 14 points, while junior
Ryan Jones and freshman
Obadiah Noel finished with 10 points apiece.
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LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 19 games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 18.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. He also boasts team-best marks for assists (64) and steals (27).
Matt Harris (12.4) and
Ryan Jones (10.2) round out the team's scorers in double-digits.
Josh Gantz, who is shooting 48.5 (63-130) from the field, is first with 23 blocks. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 45.3 percent (491-1085) from the field, 34.0 percent (135-397) from long range and 69.2 percent (305-441) from the foul line.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves are 8-12 overall in 2017-18 with a 3-3 mark in America East play. Stony Brook split its last two outings, first defeating Binghamton, 77-66 on Jan. 18 before falling, 53-51, at New Hampshire on Jan. 21. Akwasi Yeboah is leading the squad with 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. Jaron Cornish has added 10.5 points per game with a team-best 57 assists and 10 blocks. Tyrell Sturdivant has forced 30 takeaways so far this season, as well. As a whole, Stony Brook is shooting 42.7 percent (508-1190) from the floor, 35.0 percent (172-491) from three-point range and 64.3 percent (243-378) from the line.
DID YOU KNOW...
The River Hawks are 6-4 this season when
Matt Harris scores 11 points or more, but only 1-8 when he scores 10 points or less.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The difference in the team's performance when playing at home vs. on the road this season has been apparent. The River Hawks are boasting a +2.1 scoring margin at home, compared to a -11.2 margin in road games. They are shooting 72.4 percent on free throws on their home court with a 63.3 percent clip away from home. The team has taken care of the ball at home too, with a +4.2 turnover margin compared to a -1.6 margin on the road.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
UMass Lowell's six-game November homestand marked 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 6-5 record this season, the River Hawks have accumulated a 119-69 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04. Â
SNAPPING THE SKID
UMass Lowell's victory at Binghamton on Jan. 21 snapped a seven-game skid, the team's longest since the 1997-98 season. It also gave the team it's first road win since Jan. 8, 2017, ending a 14-game road losing streak. Â
SOMETHING ABOUT SUNDAYS
Now 19 games into the season, patterns of success have emerged for the team. It turns out, the River Hawks are most successful when playing on Sundays, as the squad is 4-1 so far when closing the weekend with a game. Â
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 10.5 in the last 11, including a career-high 19 points at Hartford on Jan. 10 and at Binghamton on Jan. 21. Additionally, 33 of his 43 assists, and 15 of his 19 threes this year have come in the most recent 11 outings. His field goal percentage has also improved from 42 percent (17-41) to 52 percent (46-89).
SWEET (AND SOUR) SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked third in the conference for free throws made (305) and fourth for free throw percentage (69.2)Â through 19 games. Individually,
Matt Harris is also third in the league with an 84.1 percent clip (53-63) 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. While the team started the year shooting 73.9 percent from the line through 11 games, they have hit a rough patch as of late, shooting just 60.4 percent in the last eight games.
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 74.8 points per game and fifth with a 45.3 field goal percentage.
UNDER CONTROL
With just 13.1 turnovers per game, the River Hawks have been taking care of the ball this season. The team is second in the league with a +1.74 turnover margin.
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 9.7 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 (3.3) since 2012-13. They are also third in the America East right now, led by
Josh Gantz with 1.2 per game.
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