SHU Travels to UMass Lowell for First Time since 1999
11/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Games Notes | Live Stats | Video
After opening the season with two in-state matchups, the Sacred Heart men's basketball team travels out of state on Wednesday for its first game at UMass Lowell since 1999. Tip is scheduled for 7 pm.
Scouting UMass Lowell... Playing in just its second season of Division I basketball in 2014-15, UMass Lowell finished sixth out of nine teams in the America East at 6-10 and 12-17 overall. With just three upperclassmen and eight freshmen on their roster this season, the River Hawks were selected eighth in the conference's preseason poll. Although they lost two of their top three scorers, they do return their leading scorer and rebounder in Jahad Thomas, who averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds, and is also the leading returner in assists with 1.5 per game. Matt Harris is the next leading returner scorer at 8.8 points per game, followed by Tyler Livingston at 5.0. UMass Lowell opened the season at Northwestern, a team Sacred Heart will face on December 21, with a 79-57 loss. Freshman Isaac White led the River Hawks with 15 points, going 3-5 from three-point range and 6-7 from the line. Jahad chipped in with eight points and a team-highs of eight rebounds and three assists, while Livingston added nine points.
Last Meeting... An Evan Kelley running three point jumper at the buzzer would not fall as SHU fell, 57-54, in its home opener on November 20 of last season. Trailing by four with just under a minute to play, Kelley made two free throws to cut the deficit to two for the first time since 17:20 remaining in the second half. On the ensuing River Hawk possession, the Pioneers forced a shot clock violation, one of just six turnovers for UMass Lowell on the night. The River Hawks responded by coming up with a steal with seven seconds remaining to send Chad Holley to the line with a chance to push the lead to four points. After making the first free throw, he would miss the second to set up the potential game-tying basket. The Pioneers could not overcome a 35.3 percent shooting night as Kelley was the only Pioneer to score in double figures finishing with ten points. Jahad Thomas scored a game-high 17 points and Kerry Weldon recorded a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the River Hawks.
Series History... Sacred Heart and UMass Lowell met for the first time as Division I opponents last season, with the River Hawks prevailing 57-54 in the William H. Pitt Center. In a storied matchup that dates all the way back to 1981 and the New England Collegiate Conference, SHU now leads the all-time series, 23-17, including a 97-73 victory in their first ever meeting on February 23, 1981. The Pioneers would go onto win 13 of the first 14 meetings through the 1986-87 season, including nine straight between 1984-1986. Twice the River Hawks have had four-game winning streaks, both over a two-season period in 1991-92 and 1992-93, and then again in 1995- 96 and 1996-97. UMass Lowell has won 12 of the past 18 meetings, including four of the last five at Sacred Heart. The Pioneers have however won two of the previous three in Lowell, are 3-0 in the postseason, and 1-0 in neutral contests.
Career Numbers vs. UMass Lowell...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Cane Broome (1-1) 8.0 6.0 5.0 29.0
Filip Nowicki (1-1) 5.0 4.0 - 20.0
Jordan Allen (1-0) 2.0 3.0 - 15.0
Tevin Falzon (1-0) 4.0 5.0 - 14.0
-Although Broome's eight points were just one of just seven single digit scoring performances, the 11 combined rebounds and assists were tied for his third highest of the year
-Nowicki's 20 minutes were just two shy of a season high and just one of two games in which he played at least 20 minutes all season
-Allen's two points were his second lowest output while the 15 minutes were the fourth lowest.
Last Time Out...For the second consecutive game Cane Broome scored a new career-high, netting 32 points in a 99-77 loss at Yale on Monday night. After Sacred Heart scored the first basket of the game, Yale went on a 19-4 run over the next 8:03 and never looked back, as the lead never got smaller than nine points the remainder of the contest. Two Justin Sears free throws to make the score 19-6 with 11:27 remaining capped the stretch with nine unanswered points. Despite outshooting Yale 53.1 to 48.5 percent, SHU could not overcome 20 turnovers that led to 24 Bulldog points. The Bulldogs also held a 27-10 advantage in second chance points even though they won the rebounding battle by three, 35-32. Yale also made four more threes, 9-5, and six more free throws, 26-20 than the Pioneers.
SHU vs. the America East... Since moving to Division I in 1999, Sacred Heart is 18-25 against teams that are currently in the America East, including going 2-1 last year. The only team that SHU has not faced in the Division I era is Binghamton.
Vermont 0-2 UMBC 2-8
Albany 3-3 UMass Lowell 0-1
Hartford 4-6 Stony Brook 5-2
Maine 0-3 New Hampshire 4-0
Back to Massachusetts... In addition to it being the first game at UMass Lowell since SHU's Division II playing days, it will also be the first game for the Pioneers in the state of Massachusetts in nearly two years. Sacred Heart last played in the state at Boston College on November 26, 2013, a 75-67 overtime loss.
Following a Loss... After beginning 2014-15 4-9 following a loss, SHU ended the season winning its final three games after a defeat.
Third Game Struggles... Sacred Heart has its third game of the season eight consecutive years. The Pioneers last won their third game in 2006, a 68-61 victory against Iona in the Preseason NIT on November 15.
November Road Blues... After losing at Yale on Monday night, Sacred Heart is just 6-41 all-time in November road games, including having lost its last four. They last won a November road game at Fordham on November 23, 2013.
