January 30 vs. Maine (7 p.m.) - NESNPlus
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 12-9 overall and 4-2 in America East play so far this year, will open its longest homestand of the season against Maine on Wednesday evening. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would mark the River Hawks' fourth in a row in the series against the Black Bears. It would also extend the team's longest America East win streak to five games for the first time in program history. With a victory, the River Hawks would also improve to 8-1 overall at home for the first time since 2005-06. A win would mark the team's most single-season victories (13) at the Divsion I level, as well.
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete paced four double-digit scorers for UMass Lowell in another exciting, 85-79 come-from-behind victory at Binghamton on Jan. 23. The River Hawks trailed by as many as 14 in the second half and were still down by double-digits with less than 10 left to play until freshman
Alex Rivera and Lutete combined for five points, sparking an 18-5 run that was capped off by three straight buckets from sophomore
Obadiah Noel to put the visitors on top, 73-72, at 3:40. The Bearcats knotted the score for the final time at 75-75, but a triple from Noel gave the River Hawks the lead for good, as the squad sealed the decision with free throws by Rivera and redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz in the final minute. Noel finished the night with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Gantz added 16 points of his own with six assists. Rivera rounded out the scorers in double figures with 13 points.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 21 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 16.4 points per game, leads the team with a 75.0 clip from the line and 28 steals.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 18 blocks, while
Ryan Jones has dished out a team-high 66 assists.
SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears own a 3-18 overall record and a 1-5 mark in conference action. The team is in the midst of a three-game skid, falling at Stony Brook, 64-61, on Jan. 19 and at Binghamton, 78-66, on Jan. 26. Isaiah White is pacing the squad with 14.3 points per game, while Andrew Fleming is first with 7.0 rebounds and 70 assists. Both White and Fleming boast 17 blocks. Moss Terion totals 31 steals, as well. As a team, Maine is shooting 42.7 percent from the field, including 30.5 percent on threes, and 64.7 percent from the line.
COMEBACK KIDS
The River Hawks have come from behind to win five times this season after trailing inside of the final eight minutes in the second half. In three games, UMass Lowell has even overcome a double-digit, second-half deficit, most recently erasing a 14-point, second-half difference at Binghamton on Jan. 23.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
The River Hawks are averaging 81.3 points per game, good for 34th in the nation through 21 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 75.0 points per game. The team has also already tied its Division I record for single-season wins with 12.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Despite heading into 2018-19 having lost 60.6% of their scoring from a season ago, the River Hawks boast five different players averaging double-digit points for the first time since 1994-95. At least four different players have reached double figures in 16 of their 21 games this season, including a season-high five, 10+ point scorers in five of those games.
GOING STREAKING
The victory at Binghamton gave the River Hawks their fourth straight league win for the first time ever, in addition to marking their best start in league action since joining the conference.
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.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
With a 5-0 start at home this year, the River Hawks extended their unbeaten streak in friendly territory to eight games dating back to Feb. 15, 2018. At 7-1 so far for the first time since 2009-10, the River Hawks have accumulated a 129-72 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
PLAYING AT TSONGAS
With the victory against UMBC on Jan. 12, the team has set a new record for the program's most wins in a single season at the Tsongas Center (4). Earlier this season, the UMFK decision on Dec. 7 marked the River Hawks' largest margin of victory in the arena. The team is now 8-16 all time at the Tsongas Center.
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 29th in the nation with 343 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.3 assists per game.
Ryan Jones became just the 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.
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