February 6 vs. New Hampshire (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 12-11 overall and 4-4 in America East play so far this year, will start the back half of its 2018-19 conference slate against New Hampshire on Wednesday. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would snap a brief, two-game skid for the River Hawks, in addition to splitting this season's series against the Wildcats, 1-1. A win would mark the team's most single-season victories (13) at the Divsion I level, as well its most wins at home (9) since 2011-12.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite trailing by 18 early in the second, UMass Lowell battled back to within two in the final minutes before succumbing to the America East's top-ranked squad, Vermont, 74-65, on Feb. 2 in front of a raucous Tsongas Center crowd. Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete paced the River Hawks with 18 points. Freshman
Alex Rivera chipped in with 15 points, while redshirt-senior
Josh Gantz and freshman
Joey Glynn rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points apiece.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 23 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 15.3 points per game, leads the team with a 75.6 clip from the line and 29 steals.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 20 blocks and has also dished out a team-high 68 assists.
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Wildcats enter Wednesday's matchup in the midst of a seven-game skid. Most recently, UNH faced a 62-42 setback aainst UAlbany on Jan. 30 and a 62-53 loss at Maine on Feb. 3. Jordan Reed is currently first on the team with 10.1 points per game and 21 steals. Jayden Martinez leads the squad with 5.5 rebounds per game and 15 blocks, as well. Elijah Jordan boasts a team-high 51 assists. As a team, UNH is shooting 37.4 percent from the field, including 32.9 percent on threes, and 59.9 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 7-3 so far, the River Hawks have accumulated a 129-74 mark in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
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 79.6 points per game, good for 43rd in the nation through 23 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 75.2 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 knocked down 19 threes in three games between Jan. 19-30, becoming the first River Hawk to tally at least six triples in three straight games at the Division I level. His career-best 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 79 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.
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, 973-897, in the second. Additionally, the River Hawks are shooting 49 percent in the second, compared to their opponents, who are shooting just 44 percent.
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 24th in the nation with 373 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.2 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.
BENCH PRESS-URE
In 23 games this year, the River Hawks have averaged 20.6 points off the bench. This is up from last season, when the squad averaged just 15.3 bench points per game.
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