February 21 vs. Maine (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team welcomes Maine to the Tsongas Center for Senior Night and the squad's final home game of the season on Wednesday at 7 p.m..
THANK YOU SENIORS
Matt Harris and
Jahad Thomas, who have both already etched their name in the UMass Lowell record book, will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony. Harris not only owns the program's Division I record for three-pointers made, but is also ranked third on the school's all-time record list with 225. Also a consistent scorer from the foul line, the guard sits second in school history with an 87 percent clip on free throws. Thomas totals the seventh most points in school history with 1,759 and is sixth all-time with 818 rebounds. The guard/forward owns nine Division I program records, in addition to sitting on the school's All-Time Top 10 lists for seven categories, ranking as high as third with a 55.7 field goal percentage.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Wednesday would make the River Hawks 2-0 in this season's home-and-home series against Maine. It would also give the squad back-to-back conference wins for the second time this season. A win would improve the squad's overall record to 11-16, matching its win total from a season ago, as well.    Â
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas logged a team-high 22, as UMass Lowell held on down the stretch to defeat Binghamton on Feb. 18. The Bearcats pulled within three with less than 30 seconds left in regulation, but junior
Ryan Jones and freshman
Obadiah Noel both converted on important free throws to secure the decision. Thomas added eight rebounds on the day, while Jones finished with 14 points and a career-high tying seven assists. Senior
Matt Harris and Noel chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, and redshirt-junior
Josh Gantz totaled a personal-best 10 rebounds.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 26 games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds. He also boasts team-best marks for assists (95) and steals (41).
Matt Harris (12.5) and
Ryan Jones (10.6) round out the team's scorers in double-digits.
Josh Gantz, who is shooting 49 percent (84-172) from the field, is first with 29 blocks. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 45.8 percent (676-1475) from the field, 33.9 percent (185-545) from long range and 69.7 percent (417-598) from the foul line.
SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears own a 6-22 overall record with a 3-10 mark in America East play in 2017-18. The team went 0-2 last week, first dropping a 64-61 decision against Stony Brook on Feb. 11 before facing a 67-63 setback at Hartford on Feb. 15. Aaron Calixte boasts a team-best 16.8 points per game with 83 assists. Andrew Fleming, who adds 9.4 points per game, is leading the squad with 5.1 rebounds per game, while Isaiah White totals 24 blocks. Additionally, Celio Araujo boasts 27 steals. As a team, Maine is shooting 40.3 percent (657-1630) from the field and 69.2 percent (352-509) from the foul line.
DID YOU KNOW...
The River Hawks are 9-6 this season when
Matt Harris scores 11 points or more, but only 1-10 when he scores 10 points or less.
A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION
Now in their first year of full DI eligibility, the River Hawks look back on a successful four-year transition period. Of the most recent 15 men's basketball programs to make the move to Division I, the squad finished second in APR (967). Additionally, UMass Lowell ranked fifth out of the most recent 25 transitioning schools in wins (40) during its four-year reclassification. Â
OFFENSIVE STATE OF MIND
The River Hawks continue to boast a powerful offense, as they are first in the conference right now with an average of 75.2 points per game and fourth with a 45.8 field goal percentage.
WEDNESDAYS WORK
Now 26 games into the season, patterns of success have emerged for the team. It turns out, the River Hawks are most successful when playing on Wednesdays, as the squad is 5-2 so far in mid-week games. Their toughest day to play has been Saturday (0-5).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
In 2017-18, the team has more home games than ever before at the Division I level (16). This season, the River Hawks are boasting a +0.9 scoring margin at home, compared to a -8.3 margin in road games. They are shooting 71.1 percent on free throws on their home court with a 67.4 percent clip away from home. The team has taken care of the ball at home too, with a +3.0 turnover margin compared to a -1.4 margin on the road. Including an 8-7 record this season, the River Hawks have accumulated a 121-71 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
PLAYING AT TSONGAS
UMass Lowell posted its most points scored in a game played at the Tsongas Center in a 98-78 win against Cornell on Nov. 19. The squad now owns a 5-16 all-time record in Tsongas (1-4 in 2017-18) after it's most recent 77-70 setback against Hartford on Jan. 27. Last season, the River Hawks finished 1-4 in games played at the arena with a 77-75 win against BU on Dec. 21. In 2015-16, the team earned their first ever Division I victory in the building on Nov. 18 with a 87-84 victory against Sacred Heart.
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 18, including a career-high 19 points at Hartford on Jan. 10 and at Binghamton on Jan. 21. Additionally, 51 of his 61 assists, and 24 of his 28 threes this year have come in the most recent 18 outings. His field goal percentage has also improved from 42 percent (17-41) to 51 percent (67-131).
SWEET (AND SOUR) SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked third in the conference for free throws made (417) and fourth for free throw percentage (69.7) through 26 games. Individually,
Matt Harris is third in the league with an 86.4 percent clip (70-81) 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. Although the team hit a mid-season rough patch, shooting just 61.9 percent at the line in the 10 games between Dec. 23 and Jan. 27, they have made the most of opportunities lately, with a 72.8 percent clip in the last five outings.
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 and against Hartford on Jan. 27. The squad is second in the America East rankings with 14.2 assists per game.
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 third in the league 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 America East in steals per game (7.2).
BLOCK PARTY
Josh Gantz has registered his most career blocks this season with 29 so far. He is currently third in the league with an average of 1.1 per game.
UNDER CONTROL
With 13.8 turnovers per game, the River Hawks have been doing their best to take care of the ball this season. The team is second in the league with a +1.15 turnover margin.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Since beginning 2014-15, 24 of the squad's 43 wins have been decided by seven points or less. The team has also trailed in the second half in 24 games during that same time frame before battling back to earn the victories. Â
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