February 21 vs. Binghamton (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 14-13 overall and 6-6 in America East play, will host Binghamton on Thursday, February 21 for Spread Respect Night. Â
SPREAD RESPECT
The America East Conference and its member institutions proudly support the Spread Respect initiative to ensure equality and safety for all without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. In honor of the annual Spread Respect night, the River Hawks will wear special warmup shirts against Binghamton on Thursday.
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the River Hawks their sixth consecutive win against the Bearcats. A victory would also mark the team's most America East wins (7) since 2015-16, as well as its as well its most wins at home (9) since 2011-12.
LAST TIME OUT
UMass Lowell battled back from a 10-point deficit, pulling within two in the final minute, but UMBC held on for the 70-66 America East decision on Feb. 16. The River Hawks were paced by redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete with 17 points, while freshman
Darius Henderson knocked down a personal-best three, three-pointers en route to a season-high 13 points. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel rounded out the scorers in double figures with 11 points. Redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz posted a game-high four assists, as well. An and-1 from Noel, and a steal and fast-break layup from freshman
Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) cut the difference to just 68-66 with a minute remaining, but UMBC would hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the outcome.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 27 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Obadiah Noel, who follows with 14.7 points per game, paces the team with a 74.3 clip from the line and 32 steals.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 25 blocks and has also dished out a team-high 79 assists.
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats own a 7-19 overall record and a 3-8 mark in conference action. The team split its two most recent outings, defeating New Hampshire, 68-61, on Feb. 9 before facing a 64-50 setback against UMBC on Feb. 13. Sam Sessoms is pacing the squad with 18.3 points per game, 87 assists and 33 steals. Caleb Stewart is currently first on the team with 7.4 rebounds and 48 blocks. As a team, Binghamton is shooting 42.2 percent from the field, including 32.2 percent on threes, and 62.9 percent from the line.
SETTING A NEW STANDARD
With the decision at UAlbany on Feb. 13, the River Hawks tallied their 14th win of the season, expanding on a new Division I program record. That decision also tied both the program's largest margin of victory and fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent. Â
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 8-3 so far, the River Hawks have accumulated their most home wins since 2011-12, in addition to a 130-74 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
HENDERSON HEATS UP
Darius Henderson logged season highs for points (13), three-point field goals (3) and minutes (26) at UMBC on Feb. 16. With double digit points in the team's most recent two outings, Henderson is averaging 8.7 points in the last four games, compared to 4.9 through the first 23 games.
DOUBLING UP
With 17 points and 11 rebounds,
Christian Lutete became the first River Hawk to tally a double-double in their debut at the Division I level. He has added nine more since to rank first in the league and 34th in the nation with 10 double-doubles in 2018-19, and second on the school's DI career record list.
EARLY BIRD
The River Hawks are 9-2 in 2018-19 when getting to work early and taking a lead into halftime.
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. As a team, UMass Lowell has shot better than 50 percent on field goals nine times this season and is first in the league with a 47.4 overall field goal percentage. Four of the five starting River Hawks are shooting over 50 percent, led by
Christian Lutete, who is ranked first in the America East with a 53.7 percent clip so far this year.
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 20th in the nation with 432 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.0 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.
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