RIVER HAWKS READY TO SOAR IN STRETCH RUN
Team (17-7, 8-3 AE) excited for a three-game homestand
LOWELL >> As he heads into the stretch drive of the season, Umass Lowell men’s basketball coach Pat Duquette likes where his team stands.
Fresh off a solid 86-77 road win against Bryant, the River Hawks (17-7, 8-3 AE) remain in the thick of things as they embark on a three-game homestand beginning Thursday against Binghamton.
“I think we’re playing well,” said Duquette. “We’re coming off one of our best wins of the season. I think we’re in a good spot right now.”
The River Hawks are third in America East behind only Vermont (11-1) and Bryant (9-3).
It hasn’t been easy for this battle-tested team, especially after losing senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly to injury early in the season.
“It took some adjusting to basically play the season without Karim,” said Duquette. “But I think we’ve adjusted really well in his absence. A lot of guys have stepped up and we’ve been able to have a lot of success despite losing a first-team all-league guy.”
A towering 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward, Coulibaly has been missing in action since Jan. 25 in a game against Vermont. But his injury woes seemed to catch up with him even earlier in the campaign.
“He’s really been out since November,” said Duquette. “He came back and tried to play in three to four games in January, but only played 10 minutes and couldn’t really do it. So basically, he’s been gone since our third game.”
The star forward is still out indefinitely, with his status for the rest of the season questionable at best.
“I don’t ask,” said Duquette. “It’s between him and our trainer, but we’re planning as if we’re not going to have him, because we haven’t. That’s all we can do, and other guys have got to step up and hopefully stay out
of foul trouble. We’ve got enough, but our margin is thin. We’re not really deep. We’re only playing seven guys, so everybody’s got to produce.”
Covington soaring
One player who has stepped up is Yuri Covington. The 6-foot-1 senior guard was named America East Player of the Week, following the team’s big road win at Bryant. Covington collected 27 points in the back-and-forth battle, which had 10 lead changes. He shot 60 percent overall from the floor, matching a career-high with nine field
goals.
Additionally, he tied a season high with a 5-for-6 effort at the foul line. The defensive guard rounded out his stat line with three steals, three rebounds and a block.
Overall, Covington has started all 24 games, averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game with 30 steals and 23 assists.
“He’s capable of stringing together 25-30 point games,” said Duquette. “He did it earlier in the year against Boston University. That’s great to have. We needed that. That was a huge pickup for us.”
The coach also credits the consistent efforts from his other starters, including senior point guard Ayinde Hikim (15.3 ppg), 6-foot-7
forward Max Brooks (12.5 ppg), 6-foot-8 forward Cam Morris III (11.4) and 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Brayden O’connor (10 ppg).
Senior guard Quinton Mincey has also chipped in. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound guard has provided valuable minutes off the bench, averaging 12.8 points per game. He netted a season-high 13 points in a recent 71-64 road loss to NJIT.
“Quinton has been as consistent as a player as we’ve had and has played starters minutes, even though he’s been coming off the bench,” said Duquette. “He’s critical to our success. We almost have six guys averaging double figures. All those guys have been productive, and we need them to be.”
Recruit netted
And more help is on its way. The River Hawks recently got the jump on its recruiting class by signing Kris Johnson of Upper Marlboro, Md., to a National Letter of Intent for next season. A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Johnson chose Umass Lowell over LIU, Rhode Island, Mount St. Mary’s, Towson, Iona and Norfolk State, among others.
More prospects are expected to be announced during the off-season.
“We signed Johnson early,” said Duquette. “But we’re expecting to do a majority of that in the spring.”
Home cooking
As for now, the River
Hawks are focusing their attention to Thursday when they host Binghamton at 6:30 p.m.
“They just beat NJIT by 16 points,” said Duquette. “They’re playing well. They’re talented, they’re well-coached. We say this every year, there is no easy game in this league. This year it’s more true than ever.”
And with their next three games at Costello, there is no place like home.
“It will be another good test for us,” Duquette added. “Hopefully we can continue to have good home crowds at Costello. It’s important that we have a great home court environment. Hopefully our fans are going to be excited to come out and watch us play this week.”