Men’s basketball
MAINE vs. UMASS LOWELL
Time, site: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Costello Athletic Center, Lowell, Massachusetts.
Records: UMaine 3-18 (1-5 America East), UMass Lowell 12-9 (4-2)
Series, last meeting: UMass Lowell leads 9-3, UML 88-76 on 2/18/2018
Key players, UMaine: 6-5 G Isaiah White (14.3 points per game), 6-7 F Andrew Fleming (12.9 ppg, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists), 6-4 G Sergio El Darwich (11.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, .530 FG percentage), 6-8 F Vilgot Larsson (7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg); UMass Lowell: 6-5 G Christian Lutete (18.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg), 6-4 G Obadiah Noel (16.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg), 6-7 G-F Josh Gantz (11.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.0 apg), 6-1 G Alex Rivera (11.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg), 6-3 G Ryan Jones (10.3 ppg, 3.9 apg)
Game notes: UMass Lowell, the surprise team in the conference after being picked to finish last in the preseason poll, has scored a league-best 81.3 ppg while yielding a league-worst 78.0 ppg. UMaine has the lowest scoring average in the conference (62.3 ppg) while giving up 71.2 ppg. UMass Lowell has won four straight in conference play. Lutete, a redshirt junior, leads the conference in rebounding and field-goal percentage (.547) and ranks second in scoring. Noel is second in field-goal percentage (.536) and Jones is second in assists. The River Hawks are 7-1 at home, while UMaine is 1-13 on the road. The Black Bears are coming off a 78-66 loss at Binghamton on Saturday that was close throughout until the Bearcats went on a game-ending 19-7 run. UMaine struggled from 3-point land (26.9 percent) and was outscored 16-5 from the foul line. Fleming ranks among the America East leaders in minutes (second, 36.8 per game), rebounds (fourth), assists (sixth) and field-goal percentage (sixth, .457). UMaine hosts New Hampshire (3-16, 1-5 AE) at 1 p.m. Sunday.