River Hawks Turn in Complete Team Performance, Open Season with 121-57 Win vs. Rivier

Monday, November 2

Lowell, Mass.

7PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

1-0,0-0America East

121

Rivier

0-0,0-0Great Northeast

Team	1	2	F
Rivier	29	28	57
UMass Lowell	60	61	121

11/2/2026 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights

LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Jasiah Cannady (Prince George's County, Md.) paced the UMass Lowell men's basketball team (1-1) with 16 points in a 121-57 win against Rivier to open the 2026-27 campaign at the Kennedy Family Athletic Complex on Monday evening.

"Good season-opening win," said Associate Head Coach Matt Graves. "The 29 assists is the big stat that tells the story for us. We really did a good job sharing the ball with seven guys in double figures. That's the 'everybody eats' mentality that's been good for us. So it's the start of a long journey, but it's good to start off on a good note."

All 11 River Hawks who suited up scored in the contest, led by seven players in double-digits. Freshman Elahji Diallo (Dakar, Senegal) tallied 14 points on the night, while senior Jakai Newton (Covington, Ga.), sophomore Victor Okojie (Castlebar, Ireland) and redshirt-sophomore Jayden Harris (Dumfries, Va.) added 13 points apiece. Freshman Kenyon Giles (Cleveland, Ohio) chipped in with 12 points and sophomore Christian Jones (Houston, Texas) rounded out the scorers in double figures with 10. Senior Jerrell Roberson II (Upper Marlboro, Md.) led the way on the boards with 10 rebounds, while Cannady registered seven assists.

As a team, the River Hawks shot 65% from the field in the outing, including 50% from three-point territory. The 29 assists marked the most in a single game for the program since 2023.

The River Hawks won the tip and Jones opened the 2026-27 campaign with a layup. A three from Okojie and layups from Newton and redshirt-sophomore Isaiah Walter (Central Coast, Australia) would follow before O'Cien Valdes sunk a trey for the Raiders to make it a one-possession game. However, Walter followed with five straight points to spark a 13-0 run that put the home side on top, 22-7, with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.

Roberson II banked in a layup and Cannady hit a triple to stretch the lead as far as 18 two minutes later, although Rivier would sink back-to-back triples to cut the difference to 27-15 at 11:18. The home team picked the momentum right back up, though, scoring 18 in a row with the help of five apiece from Okojie and Giles to stretch the difference to 45-15 with less than seven minutes to play in the period. The Raiders broke the silence with a pair of threes, but the home side outscored the opposition, 15-8, in the waning minutes with the help of four points from Harris to take a 60-29 edge into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Rivier scored three early free throws before the River Hawks ignited for a 14-0 run that included seven points from Harris and was capped off by a dunk from Okojie to make it 76-32 with 16:20 left to play.

Raider buckets bookended a layup from Newton before Cannady sparked a 29-3 spurt that was highlighted by nine points from redshirt-junior Donovan Hand (College Park, Ga.), putting the River Hawks on top, 107-40, at 7:39. Jones sunk the team's final three of the night with less than five minutes on the clock, and Diallo and Cannady combined for 10 points down the stretch to seal the 121-57 outcome.

Up next, the River Hawks head to Merrimack for a 7 p.m. tip off on Thursday, November 5.