America East Basketball: UMass Lowell Aiming for a Title

Read Time:3 Minute, 15 Second

The UMass Lowell River Hawks are looking to finish the job and cut down some nets come March. They are a program that has been to the America East championship game the past two years, and three times in the last four. As the River Hawks get ready for another season of chasing down a title, the question becomes is their window of opportunity starting to close? It is a question that head coach Pat Duquette may be facing.

With the new season just three weeks away, preseason rankings are starting to surface. In the KenPom preseason ranking, the River Hawks are at #120. Only Vermont, which is at #97, is higher among league teams. The program has added seven new members to the team in hopes of punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Here is a look at the new members of the team.

Kris Johnson is a 6-1 guard from Clinton Grace Christian in Prince George County MD. He averaged 14.9 points per game to go with 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals. He was an All-Defense first team as a senior and a two-time All-Conference First Team selection. PrepHoops has him as a top-10 player in the state of Maryland.

Armani Perkins is a 6-1 guard from Holbrook High School in Brockton, MA. He was a 1,000-point scorer and a three-time Mayflower League All-Star. He was the team captain in his senior year.

Martin Somerville is a 6-3 guard from Southern California Academy in Bowie, MD. He averaged 14 points and five assists for his senior year. He was named an Overtime Elite player a year ago. He came to UMass Lowell because it had a “family atmosphere”.

Isaiah Walter is a 6-6 guard from Tuggerah Lakes Secondary in Central Coast Australia. He prepped at Terror Prep in Toronto, Canada. He averaged 15.7 points, 7.9 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. He was named Big Shots Prep National All-Star and Elite Prep League All-Tournament second team.

From the transfer portal comes Quincy Clark, a 6-4 guard who has played at both Jacksonville State and Lipscomb. At Jacksonville State, he appeared in 32 games with 13 starts. He averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 boards, 97 assists, and 34 steals while with State. At Lipscomb, he played in 63 games over two seasons and averaged 5.7 points in 15 minutes of playing time. A player with a ton of experience at the Division I level.

Another portal pickup should be familiar to River Hawks fans. Mekhi Grey played for NJIT last year. He is a 6-4 guard who played in 105 career games with 74 of them starts. He is playing a grad year with the River Hawks. He averaged 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He also blocked 54 shots, had 94 steals, and shot 41.8% from the field (277-for-663).

The third portal pickup is Caleb Murphy, a 6-4 guard who has played at both DePaul and South Florida. With DePaul, he played in 23 games with eight starts. He shot 41% from the field, averaging 5.4 points, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 rebounds. He was with DePaul for two years. At South Florida, he was in 52 games with 49 of them starts. He shot 39.7% from the field. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

As you can see, guards and swingmen were what coach Duquette was looking for. With a non-conference schedule that has schools like Gonzaga, Washington, Quinnipiac St.Peters, and St.Louis on it, the UMass Lowell River Hawks are looking to put a resume and record together that will give them an excellent shot at a spot in the Big Dance.