January 23 at Binghamton (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 11-9 overall and 3-2 in America East play so far this year, will make its longest trek of the season out to Binghamton for a Wednesday night matchup. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would mark the River Hawks' fifth in a row in the series against the Bearcats. It would also extend the team's current overall win streak to four games and mark the first time UMass Lowell has ever won four straight America East games. A win would give the team it's best conference start (4-2) since moving to Division I, as well.
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete drained a personal-best seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points, as UMass Lowell battled back late to earn a 76-73 victory at America East foe Hartford on Jan. 19. Hartford led for almost 32 minutes in the contest before Lutete knocked down back-to-back threes to put the River Hawks ahead, 64-61, with 6:20 left to play. The home team would close the gap to just one on five occasions in the final minutes, including at 74-73 with less than a minute to go, but Lutete converted on a pair of free throws in the final seconds to help his team hold on for the decision. Lutete, who now has two, 30-point performances this season, was joined in double figures by sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who set a new career high of his own with 23 points, and redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz with 10 points.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 20 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 16.4 points per game, leads the team with a 74.6 clip from the line and 28 steals.
Alex Rivera is tied for first with Lutete with 42 three-pointers.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 17 blocks, while
Ryan Jones has dished out a team-high 66 assists.
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats own a 5-14 overall record and a 1-3 mark in conference action. The team is in the midst of a three-game skid, falling at UMBC, 68-49, on Jan. 16 and at Vermont, 78-50, on Jan. 19. Sam Sessoms is pacing the squad with 17.3 points per game, 65 assists and 20 steals. Chancellor Barnard is currently first on the team with 6.5 rebounds and 28 blocks. As a team, Binghamton is shooting 42.0 percent from the field, including 32.9 percent on threes, and 62.6 percent from the line.
FAST TRACKED
At 11-9 so far, this season marks the first time since 2012-13 that the River Hawks have been .500 or better through 20 games and the fastest the team has gotten 11 wins during the DI era.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
The River Hawks are averaging 81.1 points per game, good for 37th in the nation through 20 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 75.2points per game.
GOING STREAKING
The victory at Hartford gave the River Hawks their third straight league win for the first time since 2015-16, in addition to marking their best start in league action since 2016-17.
FREE IS FOR ME
Including back-to-back games with 87.5 percent clips against UMBC (1.12) and UAlbany (1.16), the team is shooting an impressive 83 percent from the foul line during conference play.
Obadiah Noel, who is pacing the team at the line, logged a season-high 10 free throws at UNH on Jan. 9, marking the second time in his career with double-digits from the line.
SECOND HALF IS WHERE IT'S AT
The River Hawks have found 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, 855-781, in the second. Additionally, the River Hawks are shooting 50 percent in the second, compared to their opponents, who are shooting just 43 percent.
CONTINUING TO IMPRESS
Lutete logged his second 30+ point performance this season with a perosnal-best 35 points at Hartford (1.19). His seven three-pointers in that game ties for second on the school's DI single-game record list. He is now a three-time America East Player of the Week selection.
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 13th in the nation with 325 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.25 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 second in the league for assists per game (3.9), as well.
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 eight times this season and is first in the league with a 48.4 overall field goal percentage. The squad is led by
Obadiah Noel, who is ranked first in the America East with a 54.9 percent clip so far this year.
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