LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team (10-4) looks to continue its strong start to America East Conference play when it hosts NJIT on Thursday, January 11 and UMBC on Saturday, January 13 at Costello Athletic Center.
A WIN WOULD
A win against NJIT would improve UMass Lowell's record to 11-4, continuing the second-best start in the program's DI history. It would also move the team to 2-0 to start conference play for the second straight year and mark the third straight win against the Highlanders.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore
Brayden O'Connor scored a career-high 23 points to help lead UMass Lowell to a 82-75 victory at New Hampshire on Jan. 6 in the America East Conference opener. One of four double-digit scorers for the River Hawks, O'Connor shot 58% (7-12) from the field, including hitting a personal-best three triples. Senior
Quinton Mincey also totaled a career-high with 19 points alongside a team-best 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Senior
Max Brooks added in 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior
Cam Morris III chipped in with 12 and nine boards, including eight on the offensive glass. In addition to shooting 43% from the field as a team, the River Hawks dominated on the boards with a 47-30 rebounding advantage.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Five River Hawks are averaging double-digits, as
Ayinde Hikim leads the squad with 15.9 points per game. Behind him,
Abdoul Karim Coulibaly adds 12.8 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game, while
Cam Morris III chips in 11.8 points alongside 5.9 rebounds.Â
Max Brooks adds 11.0 points, while
Yuri Covington adds 10.4 as well. Picking up from where he left off last year as the primary playmaker, Hikim paces his squad with 70 assists and 23 steals, while Brooks totals 23 blocks, so far.
DID YOU KNOW?
The River Hawks entered conference play with a league-best 9-4 record and were the only program with both a home record (4-1) and road record (5-3) over .500. As a whole, the America East began its conference slate as 1 of 11 leagues to have at least 75% of its teams with a record over .500.
Q THE MUSIC
Quinton Mincey has started quite the stretch for himself the last two games. He first set what was then a new career high for points (18) with a personal-best three, threes against Emerson before going a step further with a new high of 19 points with an 8-for-8 effort from the foul line at New Hampshire.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT
Brayden O'Conner turned in a breakout game in the conference opener at UNH. With six double-digit games already to his name in 2023-24, the guard added his first ever 20-point game with a career-high 23 points with a personal-best three 3FGs against the Wildcats.
FROM DOWNTOWN
As a unit, the River Hawks went off from beyond the arc in back-to-back games vs. BU and Emerson. Despite averaging just 5.8 threes per game with a 31.4% clip from long range previously, the team combined for 21 made three-pointers in those two contests, shooting over 42% in two of three outings.
HOT HAND
Yuri Covington had a stellar performance at Boston University, sinking seven threes to mark the first time a River Hawk had done so since
Connor Withers hit nine in a playoff game at UMBC in 2021. Always the defender, though, Covington also added a personal-best five steals in the same outing.
OWNING THE GLASS
Rebounding was not only the story of the game against LIU, but has been a major point of success all season. The River Hawks have reached 50 rebounds four times already this season, including three times in the last seven games. The team's 55 rebounds vs. Fisher was the most in a game since grabbing 57 vs. MCLA on Dec. 11, 2021. UMass Lowell is currently 11th in the nation for rebound margin (+10.6).
PERIMETER POWER
Heading into this season, Coach Duquette said one of the most important keys to success for his team this year would be becoming an elite perimeter defense team. So far, so good, as the River Hawks are ranked first in the nation in three-point percentage defense.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The River Hawks finished the 2022-23 season with a perfect, 17-0 record at home, good for a new program best. With the 3-0 start at home in 2023-24, UMass Lowell owned the second longest active home win streak in the nation before it was snapped on Dec. 16th. The team does still, however, have an active 21-game win streak inside of Costello Athletic Center that dates back to Feb. 7, 2022. The team also boasts a 167-95 record in front of River Hawk Nation since 2003-04.
IN THE RANKINGS
In the first NET rankings release of the year, the River Hawks made history with a ranking of 44th in the country. As of January 9th, they are ranked 108th, currently the highest ranked America East team.
NOT WASTING TIME
The River Hawks have been quick to attack this season, leading at the half in 10 of their 14 games. The team is 9-1 when holding the advantage going into the locker room so far.
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