February 2 vs. Vermont (5:30 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 12-10 overall and 4-3 in America East play so far this year, will continue its longest homestand of the season against Vermont on Saturday evening. Â
TEAM IMPACT DAY
The River Hawks will celebrate their third annual Team IMPACT Day game in honor of their teammate Nathaniel Fortes on Saturday. Team IMPACT is a Boston-based non-profit organization, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing chronic illnesses through the power of a team. Seven-year-old Nathaniel, who was matched with the UMass Lowell men's basketball team in November 2016, was diagnosed with Kawasaki's disease when he was eight months old, causing his heart and arteries to enlarge, which impacts many parts of his body. He also has neutropenia, making him more susceptible to bacterial infections. Since joining the team, Nathaniel has enjoyed attending many games, and having his teammates visit him at school and at his birthday party. He enjoys playing basketball, making crafts, and swimming in his free time. He will joining the River Hawks during pregame vs. Vermont and will be announced with the starting lineup. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would snap the River Hawks' four-game skid in the series against the Catamounts. With a victory, the River Hawks would also improve to 8-2 overall at home for the first time since 2011-12. A win would mark the team's most single-season victories (13) at the Divsion I level, as well.
LAST TIME OUT
UMass Lowell dropped a 78-59 decision against America East opponent Maine on Jan. 30, snapping a four-game win streak. Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete paced the River Hawks with 26 points and six rebounds. He was joined in double figures by freshman
Darius Henderson, who set a new career high with 12 points, and redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz, who totaled 10 points. Freshman
Bryce Daley finished with six assists, as well. The Black Bears' Andrew Fleming logged a game-high 38 points on 18-for-20 shooting to lead his squad in the decision. The River Hawks never led in the contest, but cut the difference to just three in the second, but Maine capitalized on a 10-minute scoring drought to pull away for the rest of the outing.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 22 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 16.0 points per game, leads the team with a 75.6 clip from the line and 29 steals.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 18 blocks, while
Ryan Jones has dished out a team-high 66 assists.
SCOUTING VERMONT
The Catamounts own a 16-5 overall record and a 6-1 mark in conference action. The team split its two most recent decisions, falling against UMBC, 74-61, on Jan. 23 before defeating Stony Brook, 73-52, on the road on Jan. 26. Anthony Lamb is pacing the squad with 20.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Stef Smith boasts 23 steals, while Robin Duncan totals 59 assists. As a team, Vermont is shooting 45.6 percent from the field, including 34.4 percent on threes, and 75.2 percent 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 7-2 so far, the River Hawks have accumulated a 129-73 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 8-17 all time at the Tsongas Center.
SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE BOYS
The Wagner win marked UMass Lowell's first Saturday victory in over a year, since February 4, 2017, snapping an eight-game skid. With five wins since, most recently at Hartford on Jan. 19, the team is now 6-1 on Saturdays this season.
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 80.3 points per game, good for 39th in the nation through 22 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 75.5 points per game. The team has also already tied its Division I record for single-season wins with 12.
A THREAT ON THREES
Christian Lutete has knocked down 19 threes in the team's most recent three games, becoming the first River Hawk to tally at least six triples in three straight games at the Division I level. His seven three-pointers at Hartford (1.19) ties for second on the school's DI single-game record list, as well.
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 America East play, compared to 73 percent during its non-conference slate.
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.
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 17th in the nation with 361 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.4 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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