UMass Lowell Gets Conference Season Off to a Good Start

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The last two teams to get underway in America East played on Monday. The Vermont Catamounts (0-1, 0-1) and the UMass Lowell Riverhawks (2-3, 1-0) squared off at Costello Athletic Center. Backed by three in double figures, including a double-double performance off the bench from sophomore guard Ron Mitchell of 24 points and 10 rebounds, UMass Lowell did something they have not been able to do since Feb. 8, 2016, defeat the Catamounts 73-65.

As head coach Pat Duquette said afterward ‘it was a great win against a quality team.” It must be said that Vermont has had a real hard time getting on the court. Virus issues and injuries to their frontcourt has made the early part of the season very difficult for the team. They have only been able to do drills in practice, no five-on-five. In the early stages of their first game on the court, it showed. For Lowell, they too have had their problems staying on the court. Yes, they have now played five games, and give them credit for doing that. Still, it’s been no easy ride to this point.

The Riverhawks did get off to a fast start in this one. An 8-0 run to begin the game became a 10-3 run in the first five minutes of the first half. Mitchell would be huge in the opening twenty minutes knocking down 12 of his career-high 24 points in the first session. His production would be key because of foul trouble that senior guard Obadiah Noel would suffer through. Noel, who came into the game averaging twenty points a game, was scoreless in the first half based on the early fouls. In fact, Lowell could only muster 19 points over the last fifteen minutes of the half with Mitchell carrying the load getting help from Allen Blunt who also had a career night with 16 points. The rusty play from Vermont helped as turnovers would be a problem in their opener, 16 for the game that the Riverhawks turn into 21 points. It would allow Lowell to leave the floor with a 29-22 advantage.

As you would expect, a very good player got things going in the second half. Noel knocked down his first shot of the game early in the second half on his way to 17 for the game, all in the second half. It gave the home team some juice that carried them. The Catamounts did make a run at Lowell behind good guard play from a pair of senior backcourt guys. Seth Smith (18 points) and Justin Mazzulla (17 points) starting making shots from the outside to keep their team within distance of Lowell. Mazzulla hit three in a row to keep his team in it. But on this night, the team that would lead the game from wire to wire was the Riverhawks. Lowell’s largest lead came with fourteen minutes left at 44-30. And although Vermont would get it under ten a couple of different times in the half, they never could climb all the way up the mountain. The final score was UMass Lowell 73 Vermont 65.

After the game, Duquette praised his team for the way they played in the first half without Noel who picked up three quick fouls before the game was five minutes old. He said Vermont “is good, they put you in tough spots.” Afterward, Mitchell said, he has worked on all phases of his game. On Monday night, he let his shooting do the talking for him. He was 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep. Both the field goals made and the 3-pointer made are career highs. It was the second time in league play that Mitchell pulled down double-digits in rebounds.

Vermont also got double digits from senior guard Ben Shungu who had 13. All in all, the guards from Vermont had 48 of the 65 total points. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday afternoon as the conference will go to a back to back format for this season.