February 8 at Stony Brook (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team returns to action following a bye weekend this Thursday, as they continue a three-game road swing at Stony Brook on February 8.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Thursday would mark the team's second consecutive America East victory in addition to giving the River Hawks a 2-0 record this season against the Seawolves. It would also improve the squad's overall record to 10-13, marking its fifth consecutive seasons with double-digit wins.  Â
LAST TIME OUT
All five River Hawk starters scored in double figures, as UMass Lowell topped Maine, 88-64, on Jan. 31. Redshirt-senior
Jahad Thomas recorded his second consecutive double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to pace the River Hawks. Junior
Ryan Jones added 18 points, while senior
Matt Harris finished with 16. Sophomore
Rinardo Perry and redshirt-junior
Josh Gantz rounded out the starters with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while freshman
Obadiah Noel chipped in with 10 off the bench. As a team, UMass Lowell shot 54.1 percent (33-61) from the field.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 22 games,
Jahad Thomas is pacing the River Hawks with 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. He also boasts team-best marks for assists (80) and steals (32).
Matt Harris (12.8) and
Ryan Jones (10.9) round out the team's scorers in double-digits.
Josh Gantz, who is shooting 48.0 (71-148) from the field, is first with 25 blocks. As a team, the River Hawks are shooting 46.0 percent (578-1257) from the field, 33.7 percent (158-469) from long range and 69.5 percent (348-501) from the foul line.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves, who are in the midst of a five-game skid, are 8-16 overall in 2017-18 with a 3-7 mark in America East play. Most recently, Stony Brook dropped decisions at home against UMBC, 67-63, and Hartford, 73-64. Akwasi Yeboah is leading the squad with 15.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. Jaron Cornish has added 9.9 points per game with a team-best 65 assists and 12 blocks. Tyrell Sturdivant has forced 39 takeaways so far this season, as well. As a whole, Stony Brook is shooting 42.4 percent (606-1429) from the floor, 33.3 percent (199-597) from three-point range and 62.7 percent (276-440) from the line.
DID YOU KNOW...
The River Hawks are 8-5 this season when
Matt Harris scores 11 points or more, but only 1-8 when he scores 10 points or less.
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 75.5 points per game and fourth with a 46.0 field goal percentage.
DOUBLING UP
With 20 points and 13 rebounds against Hartford on Jan. 27,
Jahad Thomas logged his 20th career double-double. He then tallied his second straight double-double and sixth this season with 19 points and 13 rebounds at Maine on Jan. 31.
SOMETHING ABOUT SUNDAYS
Now 21 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. Their toughest day to play has been Saturday (0-5).
DOWN THE STRETCH
Despite trailing by six with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, the River Hawks fought back to defeat Stony Brook in overtime on Jan. 24 for their first win ever against the Seawolves at the Division I level. The team is now 5-3 when playing in overtime at the Division I level.
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
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 14, including a career-high 19 points at Hartford on Jan. 10 and at Binghamton on Jan. 21. Additionally, 43 of his 53 assists, and 17 of his 21 threes this year have come in the most recent 14 outings. His field goal percentage has also improved from 42 percent (17-41) to 51 percent (54-107).
SWEET (AND SOUR) SPOT
The River Hawks are ranked third in the conference for free throws made (348) and fourth for free throw percentage (69.5) through 22 games. Individually,
Matt Harris is fourth in the league with an 84.1 percent clip (58-69) 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 63.6 percent in the last 11 games.
UNDER CONTROL
With just 13.8 turnovers per game, the River Hawks have been taking care of the ball this season. The team is second in the league with a +0.95 turnover margin.
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 14.5 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 1.7 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 (7.0).
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 9.2 points with a 45 percent clip from the floor. With a total of 13 three-pointers all of last season, the sophomore already has 21 in 2017-18.
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 with a 2-7 mark on the road this season. As a program, UMass Lowell has accumulated a 92-125 road record since 2003-04.
LEADING THE WAY
Jahad Thomas, who was named America East Player of the Week on Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, as well as Jan. 29, ranks among the America East's active career leaders for several categories. He is currently second in the league for career points (1664), assists (357) and steals (148), and third for rebounds (788). Classmate
Matt Harris has also jumped onto the active leaders list, as he now ranks seventh for career points (1117).
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