Shut Down Defense Leads Brown Past UMass Lowell, 58-49
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Shut Down Defense Leads Brown Past UMass Lowell, 58-49
See the five takeaways slideshow below.
Dominant performance
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWith just over nine minutes to play in the first half the Bears trailed the River Hawks 17-13 but proceeded to go on a 14-0 run run to go up 27-17. The River Hawks only scored two points the rest of the half as Brown led 29-19 at halftime.
Brown led 48-33 with nine minutes left in the game before UMass made a furious rally to cut their deficit to 49-43 with five minutes left in the game. However, a Leland King layup and clutch free throws by Tavon Blackmon and Cedric Kuakumensah put the game on ice.
Defensive battle
J.R. Hobbie led the Bears with 12 points in the game, however Cedric Kuakumensah dominated on the defensive end, pulling down 14 rebounds and blocking six shots.
Matt Harris and Chad Holley each scored ten points to lead UMass in the loss.
Looking ahead
Brown returns to action on Thursday, January 8 when they visit New Hampshire. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. This game will be their second to last game before Ivy League play begins.
For a further look at the Bown win, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
5 Takeaways From Brown's 58-49 Win Over UMass Lowell
Tavon Blackmon
Not a great night for point guard Tavon Blackmon who notched three points, all on free throws, and had four turnovers in 34 minutes of playtime.
Blackmon has been in double-figures in five straight games for the Bears however turnovers continue to be a problem. This is Blackmon's sixth, and second straight, game of the season with at least four turnovers.
For the most part, turnovers cancel out assists and Blackmon's assist numbers have been pretty good this season, just needs to cut the turnovers.
J.R. Hobbie
After not scoring a point against URI, J.R. Hobbie led all scorers with 12 points on 3 of 7 shooting from the field, all three of his made baskets came from beyond the arc.
This is Hobbies first game in double figures since he put up 13 points against Providence (4 games ago) on December 8.
Hobbie also grabbed four rebounds and had a steal in 30 minutes of action for the Bears.
Cedric Kuakumensah
Kuakumensah only scored four points in the game for the Brown Bears however, his defense more than made up for it. Kuakumensah pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked six shots against UMass Lowell.
The Six blocked shots puts him in fourth place all-time in the Ivy League in blocked shots with 199 career blocks.
Kuakumensah also had two assists and a steal in the game.
Rebounds
The Brown Bears dominated the glass, outrebounding UMass Lowell 45-33 in the game, including nine offensive rebounds which led to nine second chance points.
Kuakumensah led Brown with 14 rebounds but Leland King followed up with nine and Rafael Maia added six.
UMass Lowell had six offensive rebounds and that led them to five points.
Bounce Back Game
After a poor performance against URI, Brown bounced back with a win at home over UMass Lowell in hopes of starting a new streak.
Brown's big men showed up in this game, Kuakumensah was a force on defense and Rafael Maia had a nice game though found himself in foul trouble.
Leland King nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds but didn't shoot great from the floor.
The Bears as a team didn't shoot great (38 %) but were able to grind it out on defense and get the win.
Next up, New Hampshire.
