Wednesday, February 2 at Maine (ESPN+ - 7 p.m.)
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BANGOR, Maine - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team head to Maine to wrap up the regular-season series on Wednesday.
A WIN WOULD
The River Hawks would sweep the season series with a win against the Black Bears . It would also give the team its second road win of the conference season.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Kalil Thomas is averaging 10.3 points per game to pace the squad.
Max Brooks, who adds 9.5 points, boasts a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game and 39 blocks.
Justin Faison adds 51 assists, while
Everette Hammond totals 27 steals.
LAST TIME OUT
Allin Blunt led all scorers with 21 points, but UMass Lowell dropped a 64-62 heartbreaker in overtime against UAlbany on Jan. 26. After 40 minutes was not enough to decide the outcome, the teams battled it out for another five. Blunt put the River Hawks up by a bucket, but the board was even three times down the stretch, including for the last time at 62-62 following a huge, put-back dunk by
Quinton Mincey. However, free throws by the Great Danes' Matt Cerruti proved to be the final points, as a last-second UAlbany steal on the home team's final possession sealed the decision. Blunt shot 7-for-12 from the field on the night and added a pair of assists.
John Hall and Mincey finished with 13 and 10 boards, respectively.
TURNING UP THE PRESSURE
The River Hawks are doing a good job forcing the ball out of their opponents' hands this season. The team is currently second in the league in turnover margin (+2.3) and is boasting 14.6 points off turnovers per game.
COMING ON STRONG
Allin Blunt, who logged his 100th career game at UMBC on Jan. 8, is playing some of his best basketball in his senior season. The forward has logged the first 20-point games of his career in two of the team's last three outings.
ON HIS BLOCK
Max Brooks set a new, all-time program record with 10 blocks at UAlbany on Jan. 12. He leads the conference and is 36th in the country with 2.35 blocks per game.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
So far this year, UMass Lowell owns a 7-1 record when leading at halftime.
CLEANING THE GLASS
UMass Lowell is strong crashing the boards on the offensive end, leading the America East in offensive boards per game (11.2) and rebounding offense (37.7).
PUTTING UP A FIGHT
So far, six of the team's nine losses, including its five conference losses have featured double-digit lead changes.
COMEBACK KIDS
With the performance at UMBC on Jan. 8, the River Hawks have now trailed in the second half in five of their 10 wins so far. This includes two, double-digit comebacks this season. After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half at GW, the team most recently erased a 14-point deficit at Merrimack.
TIPPING POINT
Starting off with the ball in their hands has proved to be a recipe for success for the River Hawks this year, as the team is 10-3 so far when winning the tip.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
This year, Coach Duquette has made defense a huge point of emphasis for his program, which typically leads the America East in several offensive categories. So far, the River Hawks are first in the league and 25th in the nation in FG% defense. The team held Fisher to an all-time program-low 38 points on Nov. 27.
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