February 9 at Stony Brook (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 13-11 overall and 5-4 in America East play so far this year, will spend the next two weeks on the road beginning at Stony Brook on Saturday evening. Â
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the River Hawks their second DI victory against the Seawolves, in addition to splitting this season's series. A win would match the team's total America East wins from a season ago, as well as give UMass Lowell its most road wins since 2015-16 (5). Â
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete logged his eighth double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds to help propel UMass Lowell to a 72-62 victory against America East foe New Hampshire on Feb. 6. Lutete was joined in double figures by senior
Shawn Jones with a season-high 17 points. Freshman
Joey Glynn added 13 points, including a personal-best, 7-for-7 effort from the foul line. Freshman
Bryce Daley turned in a season-high 10 rebounds, as well. The Wildcats led by as many as six in the first half before the River Hawks ended the half on a 25-7 run to pull in front for good.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 24 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 18.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 15.3 points per game, paces the team with a 75.6 clip from the line and 29 steals.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 21 blocks and has also dished out a team-high 69 assists.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves, who enter Saturday's game with a 19-5 overall record and a 7-2 conference mark, have won their most recent two outings. The squad first defeated Hartford, 86-77, on Feb. 2 before downing Binghamton, 85-59, on Feb. 6. Akwasi Yeboah is currently first on the team with 16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Two other Seawolves are scoring in double figures, including Elijah Olaniyi with 11.9 points per game. Jaron Cornish boasts a team-high 87 assists and Jules Moor totals 28 steals. Jeff Otchere ranks first with 61 blocks, as well. As a team, Stony Brook is shooting 42.0 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent on threes, and 72.9 percent from the line.
SETTING A NEW STANDARD
With the decision against New Hampshire on Feb. 6, the River Hawks tallied their 13th win of the season, setting a new Division I program record.
ON THE GLASS
Christian Lutete and
Bryce Daley each pulled down 10 rebounds against UNH (2.6), marking the first time since November of 2017 (vs. UMass Boston) that two River Hawks have boasted double-digit boards. The team is currently second in the league for rebounding offense (35.5), while
Christian Lutete is first in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game, as well.
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 79.3 points per game, good for 45th in the nation through 24 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 75.0 points per game.
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.
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 6-2 on Saturdays this season.
BENCH PRESS-URE
The River Hawks have boasted 35 points off the bench in their last two consecutive games. In 24 games this year, the River Hawks have averaged 21.2 points off the bench. This is up from last season, when the squad averaged just 15.3 bench points per game.
EARLY BIRD
The River Hawks are 8-2 in 2018-19 when getting to work early and taking a lead into halftime.
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 23rd in the nation with 382 total assists and is first in the America East with 15.9 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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