River Hawks Soar Past Rivier in Season Opener Blowout, 107-55

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The outcome of the season opener for the UMass Lowell River Hawks was not a surprise. The 107–55 win over Rivier, a Division II school, was predictable in many ways. The new-look River Hawks got a chance to showcase themselves in front of a solid crowd of 795 — not bad for an opening night at the Kennedy Family Athletic Complex.

The River Hawks placed four players in double figures, led by freshman forward Austin Green, who recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. UML dominated in all categories, scoring 28 points off 15 Raiders turnovers and 60 points in the paint by using their size advantage. They also ran the floor well, tallying 22 fast-break points and a whopping 55 points off the bench. Eleven players saw court time for the River Hawks — and all of them scored. It was a great way to start the season.

In the first half, the Raiders found ways to hang with the home team. Head coach Pat Duquette thought his team “gave up too many points” (32). UML went to the locker room up by only ten, 42–32. That was quickly corrected in the second half, as UML outscored the visitors from Nashua, NH by a 65–23 margin. They did it by shooting 64.9% (24-of-37) from the field, 50% (4-of-8) from three-point range, and an impressive 92.9% (13-of-14) from the free-throw line.

Rivier hung in there during the first half thanks to Izaiah Shaw-Glen, who scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and went 1-of-3 from deep. UMass Lowell clamped down defensively after halftime, holding him to just two second-half points. He finished with 13 on the night and was one of four Raiders in double figures — joined by Robenson Baguidy (10), Jamari Williams (10), and Theo Briscoe IV (11). One bright spot for Rivier was their free-throw shooting, going 8-of-10 (80%) for the game.

After the game, Coach Duquette and a couple of his players spoke about the roster overhaul that has taken place. Duquette emphasized that he still wants to develop players recruited as freshmen, but he also values the experience and maturity that transfers from the portal can bring. An interesting note from Monday night’s game: UMass Lowell is one of at least 12 teams nationwide returning 0% of their scoring from a season ago.

Austin Green mentioned that UML’s coaching staff had shown interest in him for quite some time. When the opportunity arose, they were quick to reach out and convince him to join. He spoke highly of the team’s chemistry and the strong bond among the players. Khalil Farmer (14 points), a junior guard from Philadelphia who transferred from Hofstra University, echoed those sentiments. He said the experience so far has been “genuine” and described playing in front of the Kennedy crowd for the first time as “fun.”

Both Green and Farmer summed it up best: “So far, so good.” The other two River Hawks in double figures were Jared Frey (10) and JJ Massaquoi (14 — all in the second half).

UMass Lowell will now hit the road for six of their next seven games, starting Friday night when the River Hawks face Connecticut in a multi-team event that also features New Haven, a brand-new Division I program, and Columbia University from the Ivy League.