The UMass Lowell River Hawks and the Stonehill Skyhawks meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Merkert Gymnasium. UMass Lowell is 4-1 on the year so far. The River Hawks beat Saint Peter’s in their last outing on November 20. As for Stonehill, they dropped to 1-6 overall with another loss to Quinnipiac back on Sunday. Here’s our UMass Lowell vs Stonehill prediction.

UMass Lowell River Hawks 

UMass Lowell started out the season on a nice winning streak, taking out Rivier, Dartmouth and Georgia Tech. The River Hawks would then take their first loss of the season to Arizona State 71-69 in game four. UMass Lowell shot a nice 48.1 percent from the field with a 40-32 rebounding edge in the loss, but coughed up 21 turnovers as well. 

The River Hawks got back to their winning ways in their latest matchup versus Saint Peter’s. UMass Lowell posted a 34-29 first-half edge in that one and powered out the 69-61 victory in the end. Top team scorer Ayinde Hikim led the way on 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. 

Stonehill Skyhawks 

Over on the Skyhawks’ side, they posted a lone win over Army in their second game of the year. Otherwise it’s been a run of futility for Stonehill, as they fell to George Washington, UConn, Saint Joseph’s, Kentucky and Texas A&M-Commerce in their first six outings. Stonehill shot 60 percent from the field with 19 turnovers versus the Lions. 

The Skyhawks recorded another loss in their latest matchup versus Quinnipiac. After falling behind 47-31 going into the second half, Stonehill got better from there but still fell 80-69. Leading the way were Max Zegarowski and Jackson Benigni, each with 18 points and a combined nine rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE STONEHILL VS UMASS LOWELL PREDICTION 

I’m going to stay with the River Hawks. UMass Lowell is playing some pretty darn good basketball this year so far, with their lone loss being a close one. The River Hawks posted a nice 52.2 percent shooting from the field in the Saint Peter’s matchup, along with 41.7 percent from the field and a 31-28 rebounding advantage. They shouldn’t have any issues scoring on Stonehill. 

Speaking of the Skyhawks, they gave up 51.9 percent shooting from 3-point range to Quinnipiac in their last outing, but didn’t shoot too badly themselves (45 percent). Still, I don’t think Stonehill will be able to keep the pace on the scoreboard here.