February 12 vs. Maine (7 p.m.)
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February 15 at Hartford (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 9-16 overall and 3-7 in league games, hosts Maine on Wednesday, February 12 for a mid-week conference tilt before visiting Hartford on Saturday, February 15.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Wednesday would split the season series for the River Hawks against Maine in 2019-20. It would also even the team's home conference record at 3-3.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior
Obadiah Noel logged a game-high 24 points in a low-scoring setback for UMass Lowell against UMBC on Team IMPACT Day and Alumni Day at the Tsongas Center. The River Hawks led for over 31 minutes in the contest, but the final six proved to be in the difference, as the Retrievers outscored their hosts 17-1 during that stretch to erase the difference for good and pull away for the decision. Noel was the only double-digit scorer for UMass Lowell, while graduate student
Christian Lutete chipped in with a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman
Connor Withers totaled three steals and three assists, as well.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 25 games,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 19.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Obadiah Noel follows with 18.5 points, and a team-best 40 steals and 70 assists.
Ron Mitchell adds 8.9 points, while
Connor Withers boasts a team-best 30 blocks, as well.
SCOUTING MAINE
So far this season, Maine is 7-17, coming off of an 83-75 win against Binghamton on Feb. 8 to improve to 3-7 in the America East play. Leading the Black Bears in scoring is senior Andrew Fleming with 15.3 points per game. He also leads the team with 34 steals. Sergio El Darwich is first on the team with 73 assists, as well. The Black Bears are currently shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
CONSISTENT IS HIS MIDDLE NAME
Ron Mitchell has not missed a free throw since Jan. 4, the last time the River Hawks played UMBC. He has gone 13-for-13 at the line in his last seven appearances.
PERFECT 10
Obadiah Noel had a career night at Stony Brook on Feb. 5, logging a personal-best 10 field goals and a season-high 10 free throws en route to a career-high 31 points. He also added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. He needs just one more double-digit performance to match
Christian Lutete for the program's longest 10+ point streak at the Division I level (20 games).
NEW DIGS
UMass Lowell unveiled a brand new men's basketball suite in the Tsongas Center on Jan. 29. The 2,000 square foot space includes a student-athlete locker room, a team lounge and meeting room, in addition to a coaches' meeting space and changing area.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
The River Hawks have been most successful this year when jumping out to an early advantage. The team is 7-2 so far when taking a lead into halftime.
SHARP SHOOTERS
The River Hawks, who are first in the league shooting 45.0 percent from the floor, have shot better than 45 percent on field goals 12 times this season, including a 59.3 percent clip against St. Francis Brooklyn. Two players are shooting over 50 percent individually.
BACK AND FORTH WE GO
The team is used to back-and-forth battles this season with 10 games featuring nine or more lead changes, most recently with 17 at Stony Brook on Feb. 5. The River Hawks fought through a season-high 19 lead changes in the win against CCSU on Dec. 1.
STEALING THE SHOW
After going more than a year without logging double-digit steals, the River Hawks have already done so in five games this season, most recently against UMBC on Feb. 8. The team is currently second in its conference with 7.20 steals per game.
STRONG OFFENSIVE CORE
The River Hawks, who returned 78 percent of their scoring from the 2018-19 team that set Division I program records for wins (15) and winning percentage (.469), are currently first in the league with 74.2 points per game.
HELPING HANDS
Jordyn Owens dished out a career-high nine assists at Maine (1.15) to set a new single-game best for the team this season. Obadial Noel paces the squad with 71 assists in 2019-20. As a team, the River Hawks are currently ranked first in the America East with 14.56 assists per game.
UNDER CONTROL
Prior to the start of the season, Coach Duquette said that a better assist/turnover ratio was a big goal for the team. So far, the River Hawks have followed through with taking care of the ball and are second in the league in that category (1.06).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
This season, UMass Lowell has a record 17 home games, including an eight-game homestand. With its sixth consecutive win in a home opener this season and a 6-8 record so far this year, the team is now 136-84 in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
PLAYING AT TSONGAS
For the first time ever, all of the River Hawks home conference games will be played at Tsongas, as the team will play record 11 games in the arena this year. With a victory against CCSU in the team's Tsongas debut for 2019-20 and sitting at 3-5 in the building this year, the team is now 11-24 all time in Tsongas.
