December 29 at Sacred Heart (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 7-7 so far this year, will play its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday at Sacred Heart. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the River Hawks a 2-0 record against the Pioneers this year. A win would also improve on a Division I program record already set by the team in 2018-19 for its most non-conference victories in a single season (8). the team's most non-conference wins in a season since moving to Division I (7). Additionally, a win would be the first for the River Hawks on an opponent's home court this season. Â
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete logged a career-high 34 points to help lift UMass Lowell to a 97-79 victory against Loyola (Md.) in the team's final game before the holiday break on Dec. 21. As a team, the River Hawks shot over 60 percent for the second time this season led by Lutete, who shot a personal-best, 12-for-18 in the performance. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel added 16 points and a season-high nine rebounds, while tying a career best with five assists. Senior
Ryan Jones and freshman
Alex Rivera chipped in with 13 points apiece, and redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz totaled 10.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 14 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 15.6 points per game, leads the team with a 55.2 clip from the field and 19 steals. Freshman
Alex Rivera is first with 30 three-pointers.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 12 blocks, while
Ryan Jones has dished out a team-high 63 assists.
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers, who are 4-8 so far in 2018-19, are in the midst of a three-game skid. Most recently, the squad fell, 104-82, at St. John's on Dec. 22 after dropping a 90-76 decision at Seton Hall on Dec. 19. Koreem Ozier is currently first on the team with 21.3 points per game, while E.J. Anosike and Jare'l Spellman pace SHU with 7.9 rebounds per game apiece. Cameron Parker boasts a team-high 39 assists and Sean Hoehn totals 11 steals. As a team, Sacred Heart is shooting 47.2 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from three-point territory, and 70.7 percent from the line.
EARLY BIRD
The River Hawks are now 6-0 in 2018-19 when getting to work early and taking a lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF IS WHERE IT'S AT
The River Hawks have found their strength in the second, as evidenced by
Christian Lutete's DI program-best, 25-point second half on Dec. 1. So far, the team is outscoring their opponents, 622-560, in the second. Additionally, the River Hawks are shooting 55 percent in the second, compared to their opponents, who are shooting just 45 percent.
HELPING HANDS
The River Hawks set a new Division I program record with 29 assists against Maine Fort Kent on Dec. 7. The squad is currently fourth in the nation with 244 total assists and is first in the America East with 17.4 assists per game.
Ryan Jones became just second player in the program's Division I history to register 10 assists in a game in the NJIT contest on Dec. 1. He is ranked first in the league for assists per game (4.5), as well.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON
With seven wins already in the books, the 2018-19 River Hawks have set a new DI program record for non-conference victories.
FULL THROTTLE
The River Hawks went full force on offense against Maine Fort Kent, setting multiple new program scoring records. The squad's 110-point offensive outburst marked the most points in a single game since 2009 (110, vs. Mercy, 11/15/09), while the team's 42 made field goals becomes a new Division I best, improving on a 2015 performance against Wheelock (41, 11/24/15).
HIGH SCORING AFFAIRS
The River Hawks' wins against Army and Sacred Heart marked the team's first back-to-back, 90+ point wins since 2015-16, when the squad put together three-straight victories with more than 90 points from Feb. 8-14, 2016. With the addition of the NJIT, UMFK and Loyola decisions, the River Hawks have already surpassed its total 90-point outcomes from 2017-18 (3). The team is currently leading the America East with 82.9 points per game.
SHARP SHOOTERS
In the win against Army on Nov. 17, the River Hawks shot over 60 percent (61.2%) from the floor for the first time since Jan. 5, 2017. The accuracy continued, as the the team then shot 60.3 percent against Loyola on Dec. 21. As a team, UMass Lowell has shot better than 50 percent on field goals five times this season and is first in the league with a 49.1 overall field goal percentage. The squad is led by
Obadiah Noel, who is ranked first in the America East with a 55.2 percent clip so far this year.
BENCH PRESS-URE
In 14 games this year, the River Hawks have averaged 23.8 points off the bench. This is up from last season, when the squad averaged just 15.3 bench points per game.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Despite heading into 2018-19 having lost 60.6% of their scoring from a season ago, the River Hawks have boasted at least four different double-digit scorers in 11 of their 14 games this season, including a season-high five, 10+ point scorers in four of those games, most recently against Loyola. Additionally, against UMFK, 10 different River Hawks scored a point for the first time in a year.
