January 16 at Binghamton (ESPN3 - 2 p.m.)
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January 17 at Binghamton (ESPN3 - 12 p.m.)
Live Stats | Watch Live | Game Notes (PDF)
VESTAL, N.Y. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team is hitting the road for the first time in 2021 to visit Binghamton for a pair of games this weekend.  Â
A WIN WOULD
A win against Binghamton would give the River Hawks a 10-5 record against the Bearcats at the Division I level after splitting the 2019-20 series. Â
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 1-1 against Hartford on Jan. 9-10. Led by two, 20-point scorers, UMass Lowell fended off a late attack to defeat the Hawks, 71-62, in the first game of the weekend series. Although Hartford cut the difference to just one with less than four minutes remaining,
Connor Withers beat the shot-clock with a clutch three and followed with four consecutive free throws to help the River Hawks pull away down the stretch.
Obadiah Noel led all scorers with 24 points in that outing, while Withers matched a career best with 20 points. The next day, Noel recorded 18 points and a season-high four steals in a 75-58 setback.
Kalil Thomas joined Noel in double-figures, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to set a new career high with 13 points.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Obadiah Noel, the squad's lone senior, is pacing the River Hawks and America East with 21.2 points. He adds a team-best 3.6 assists per game.
Connor Withers is controlling the boards with 5.8 rebounds per game.
Salif Boudie and
Darion Jordan-Thomas chip in with an average of 7.0 and 6.2 points, respectively, while newcomer
Max Brooks boasts a team-best 13 blocks, as well.
CHARITABLE EFFORTS
So far this year, no player in the America East has been sent to the foul line (103) or made more free throws (76) than
Obadiah Noel. He currently ranks fifth in the nation for free throws made. The guard set a new personal best, going 15-for-16 from the charity stripe at Stony Brook on Dec. 28. With that performance, he logged the most free throws in a single game for the program since
Logan Primerano made 16 in 2015-2016.
SHARP SHOOTERS
The River Hawks, who led the America East in shooting percentage for the last two years, are shooting 43.9 percent from the field this year. The team shot a season-high 53.2% in the win against Hartford on Jan. 9.
Salif Boudie is currently pacing the squad with a field goal percentage of 65.5%.
CAREER DAYS
Both
Connor Withers and
Kalil Thomas set career highs against Hartford, as Withers matched a personal best with 20 points against the Hawks on Jan. 9 and Thomas logged a career-high 13 points the following day on Jan. 10.
MAKING HIS MARK
Obadiah Noel is poised to become the program's second player ever to reach 1,500 career points at the Division I level behind only
Jahad Thomas (1,864).
HELPING HANDS
Both
Obadiah Noel and
Bryce Daley are currently ranked in the top five in the America East for assists per game. Daley has logged six helpers in a single game on two occasions this year, including against Hartford on Jan. 10.
SHARING IS CARING
For the first time since Feb. 20 of last season, the River Hawks had four scorers in double figures in a win against NJIT on Jan. 3, led by 18 points apiece from
Salif Boudie and
Gregory Hammond.
DOUBLING UP
On Dec. 28 at Stony Brook,
Darion Jordan-Thomas matched a season high with 12 points and added a career-high 13 rebounds for his first double-double.
Salif Boudie then logged his first double-double as a River Hawk with 18 points and 14 rebounds against NJIT on Jan. 3.
100 CLUB
Obadiah Noel played in his 100th career game at Stony Brook on Dec. 27. Now at 105 games played, he ranks sixth in the program's Division I history and is just four games away from surpassing
Jahad Thomas (109) for fifth place.
CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
With 48 rebounds against NJIT on Jan. 3, the River Hawks grabbed the most boards for the program in a single game since 2018 vs. UMass Boston (56). The team is currently third in the league with its best DI rebound margin yet at +2.1.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
The River Hawks have been quick to attack this season, scoring first in nine of their 12 games so far, with the initial bucket coming from
Connor Withers in three of those contests.
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