March 7 at Hartford (5 p.m.)
Live Stats | Watch Live | Game Notes (PDF)
Tickets | Tournament Central
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The No. 6 seeded UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who finished the regular season 13-18 overall and 7-9 in league games, will visit No. 3 Hartford for the quarterfinals of the 2020 Hercules Tires America East Men's Basketball Playoffs on Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m.
TOURNAMENT TIME
With the win at New Hampshire in the regular-season finale and the help of conference tie-breaking procedures against UAlbany, the River Hawks earned the No. 6 seed for the 2020 Hercules Tires America East Men's Basketball Playoffs and a trip to No. 3 seed Hartford for the quarterfinal round. The winner will advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, March 10.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
This marks the River Hawks' third season eligible for the postseason at the Division I level. The program is 45-37 all time in post-season games.
ABOUT THE (RE)MATCHUP
UMass Lowell and Hartford split the home-and-home series during the 2019-20 regular season with each team picking up a road victory. However, the teams also met in America East Playoffs quarterfinal action last season. The River Hawks led by six at halftime in that contest, but it would be decided inside of the final minute, 78-70, in favor of Hartford.
A WIN WOULD
A win on Saturday would mark the River Hawks' first post-season win at the Division I level. It would also improve the team's record to 4-5 on the road at Hartford in Division I games.
LAST TIME OUT
Christian Lutete registered a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds to help lead UMass Lowell to a 63-54 victory against New Hampshire in the regular-season finale on March 3. UMass Lowell led the whole way, shooting 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range in the second half to close out the victory.
Obadiah Noel also scored in double figures with 19 points, while graduate student
Josh Gantz recorded three assists.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 31 games,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 19.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Obadiah Noel follows with 18.0 points, and a team-best 52 steals and 84 assists.
Connor Withers adds 9.1 points and boasts a team-best 36 blocks, as well.
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks finished the regular season at 16-15 overall and 9-7 in conference play to earn its third consecutive top-four finish. The team won two of its last three games, but dropped its regular-season finale, 71-65, against Maine on March 3. Malik Ellison paces the team with a double-double average of 18.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Two other Hawks are scoring in double figures, including Hunter Marks (10.4 ppg), who adds 18 blocks this year. Traci Carter is first on the squad with 149 assists and 78 steals. As a unit, Hartford is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from long range.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Three River Hawks garnered America East All-Conference honors.
Obadiah Noel was named to the All-Conference First Team, while
Christian Lutete earned a spot on both the Second Team and the All-Academic Team.
Connor Withers rounded out the award winners as an All-Rookie Team honoree.
THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN
Including the 2019-20 final regular-season standings, UMass Lowell has now finished fifth or sixth every year since joining the America East Conference back in 2013-14.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
The River Hawks are heating up at the right time, having won four of their last six games to close the regular season. During that stretch, the team has averaged 76.2 points, while shooting 50 percent from the floor with 15.2 assists per game, as well.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF WIN
The high-scoring River Hawks are not accustomed to needing to win games on the glass, but that's exactly what it took to defeat New Hampshire on March 3. Although the Wildcats are ranked third in the nation for rebounds per game, the River Hawks pulled down more boards, 39-35, in addition to giving up the fewest points against a DI opponent all season (54).
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 596 points this season.
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 three victories since for a total of 13 so far, which marks the second most for the program at the DI level.
NOT WITHERING AWAY
Connor Withers is finishing out his freshman campaign strong, averaging 15.0 points in the last six 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 14 appearances.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
The River Hawks have been most successful this year when jumping out to an early advantage. The team is 11-2 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 25 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 14.68 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 yet again with 74.6 points per game.
Â
