March 3 at New Hampshire (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 12-18 overall and 6-9 in league games, will visit New Hampshire for the regular-season finale on Tuesday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
TOURNAMENT TIME
Heading into the final game of the regular season, there are still several seeding scenarios that could play out for the Hercules Tires America East Men's Basketball Playoffs, which start on Saturday, March 7. The River Hawks can take the No. 6 seed with a win against New Hampshire and a loss by UAlbany. The team's quarterfinal opponent will also be determined on Tuesday, as Hartford can secure the No. 2 seed and push Stony Brook to No. 3 with a win and a Stony Brook loss.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Tuesday would sweep the season series against New Hampshire and give the River Hawks their third straight win against the Wildcats. Â
LAST TIME OUT
Graduate student
Christian Lutete logged 17 points and 11 rebounds, as UMass Lowell faced a 94-77 setback against top ranked Vermont on Senior Night. Lutete's performance marked his fourth double-double of the season and the 14th of his career. Junior
Obadiah Noel finished with 14 points, while freshman
Connor Withers added 12 points and three assists.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 30 games,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 19.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Obadiah Noel follows with 18.0 points, and a team-best 51 steals and 84 assists.
Connor Withers adds 9.2 points and boasts a team-best 34 blocks, as well.
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Wildcats, who are 15-13 overall and 8-7 in conference play, are in the midst of a four-game win streak. Most recently, the team defeated Binghamton, 89-70, on Feb. 29 after downing Maine, 77-70 on Feb. 26. Nick Guadarrama leads the team with 12.9 points, while Sean Sutherlin adds 12.6, and is first on the squad with 9.2 rebounds per game and 27 steals. Marque Maultsby has been a playmaker with 80 assists and Jayden Martinez totals 19 blocks so far. As a unit, UNH is shooting 40.9 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent from long range.
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM
Josh Gantz scored nine points against Vermont on Feb. 29 to become the third River Hawk to join the 1,000 Career Point Club this year, marking the first time that three team members have reached that milestone in the same season. He averaged 17.7 points in the last three games, including a career-high 23 at Binghamton on Feb. 20 to reach that achievement.
ANOTHER ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
With 17 points against Vermont on Feb. 29,
Christian Lutete surpassed
Jahad Thomas (570, 2017-18) for the program's Division I single-season points record. Lutete nows boasts 573 points this season.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
The River Hawks are heating up at the right time, having won three of their last five games with just one to play in the regular season. During the most recent five games, the team has averaged 78.8 points, while shooting 51 percent from the floor with 16.2 assists per game, as well.
LUCKY 7
With the win against Maine on Feb. 12, the River Hawks reached double-digit wins for the seventh consecutive season since the squad transitioned to Division I. The team has added two victories since for a total of 12 so far, which matches the second most for the program at the DI level.
NOT WITHERING AWAY
Connor Withers is finishing out his freshman campaign strong, averaging a team-best 16.8 points in the last five games, including a season-high 20 points at Hartford on Feb. 15 en route to his second America East Rookie of the Week nod this year.
CONSISTENT IS HIS MIDDLE NAME
Ron Mitchell has not missed a free throw since Jan. 4 at UMBC. He has gone 21-for-21 at the line in his last 13 appearances.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
The River Hawks have been most successful this year when jumping out to an early advantage. The team is 10-2 so far when taking a lead into halftime.
PERFECT 10
Obadiah Noel logged 25 points at Hartford on Feb. 15 to surpass
Christian Lutete for the program's longest 10+ point streak at the Division I level. He has now scored in double digits for 24 straight games.
SHARP SHOOTERS
The River Hawks, who are first in the league shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, have shot better than 45 percent on field goals 16 times this season, including a 59.3 percent clip against St. Francis Brooklyn. Three players are shooting over 50 percent individually.
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.
Obadiah Noel paces the squad with 84 assists in 2019-20. As a team, the River Hawks, who totaled more than 20 assists in three games so far, are currently ranked first in the America East with 14.83 assists 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 75.0 points per game.
STEALING THE SHOW
After going more than a year without logging double-digit steals, the River Hawks have already done so in six games this season, most recently against UAlbany on Feb. 26. The team is currently second in its conference with 7.03 steals per game.
NATIONAL NEWS
The River Hawks are ranked 39th in the nation for total assists (445). Individually,
Christian Lutete is ranked 33rd for total points (573).
ROAD WARRIORS
The River Hawks recorded their most wins away from home during the Division I era last season (7). At 4-9 so far this year, the program has now accumulated a 104-150 road record since 2003-04. Â
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