LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's basketball team (14-7, 3-3 AE) kicks off a three-game road trip, starting this week at NJIT (4-17, 1-5 AE) on Thursday, January 30 at 7 p.m. before then visiting the UMBC Retrievers (11-10, 3-3 AE) on Saturday, February 1 at 1 p.m.
A WIN WOULD
A win would move the River Hawks to 15-7 on the season and move the team to 4-3 in conference play. It would also improve the team's record to 2-1 on the road in America East action.
LAST TIME OUT
Fifth year
Max Brooks (Waldorf, Md.) paced five double-digit scorers with 22 points to help propel the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (14-7, 3-3 AE) to a 97-80 victory against New Hampshire (4-18, 2-5 AE) in front of a sold-out crowd at Costello Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. Fifth year
Quinton Mincey (Upper Marlboro, Md.), who added to the offense with his second consecutive 20-point game, tied Brooks for the team lead with nine rebounds. Freshman
Martin Somerville (Bowie, Md.) chipped in with 18 points, all of which came in the final 11 minutes of the outing. Fifth year
Yuri Covington (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and senior
Cam Morris III (Alexander City, Ala.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Four River Hawks are averaging double-digits, as
Max Brooks leads the charge with 15.4 points per game alongside a team-high 8.2 rebounds and 54 blocks. Behind him,
Quinton Mincey adds 15.0 points per game, while
Martin Somerville boasts 13.7 points in his first season, including a team-high 49 three-pointers and 28 steals.
Yuri Covington rounds things out with 11.0 points per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
Costello Athletic Center has been very kind to the home team during the last three seasons, as the River Hawks are currently 39-3 in the building since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, including 12-2 in 2024-25.
OUTLASTING THE COMPETITION
A resilient group, the River Hawks have found ways to pull ahead when they needed to in several, back-and-forth games this year, most recently earning the win at UAlbany despite season highs of 11 stalemates and 14 lead changes. The team is now 5-3 on the year in games with at least eight lead changes.
NATIONAL NEWS
UMass Lowell is currently ranked in the top 25 in the nation in five team categories, including free throws made (11th) and defensive rebounds per game (13th).
SHARP SHOOTERS
UMass Lowell is first in the league and 12th in the country for field goal percentage, shooting 49.6% from the floor. For the second year in a row,
Max Brooks is leading the way in efficiency for the squad and is ranked second in the country with a 72.0% clip on field goals. He is also ninth nationally among active NCAA career leaders (64.0%). The big man went a perfect, 12-for-12 on field goals against Dartmouth, matching the NCAA record this season and marking the best performance by any player nationwide since the 2021-22 season.
GOING UP AND STAYING UP
The team plays well when they get out in front, owning an 8-2 record when leading at halftime so far this year.
COMEBACK KIDS
The River Hawks have shown their composure and toughness this season, trailing or being tied in the second half before pulling out the victory in eight games so far this year, most recently against New Hampshire.
HELPING HANDS
The River Hawks' passing and connectedness has been on full display this year, as the team has logged seven games with over 20 assists so far. The team is currently first in the America East with 15.6 assists per game.
SCORING POWER
With an average of 82.2 points per game through 21 games, the River Hawks currently sit second in the America East in scoring offense and 32nd in the nation. Last season, UMass Lowell finished ranked 36th in the nation, averaging 80.0 points per game, the highest scoring average for any America East team since 2016-17 when UMBC averaged 81.1 ppg. The team set a new DI record and scored its most points in a single games since 1995 with 121 in the contest against Fisher.
