Jan. 17, 2009

Box Score

LOWELL - Junior F Victor Colon (Chicago, IL) scored 15 points and freshman G Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) added 13 as UMass Lowell defeated American International College, 63-58, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tilt at the Costello Athletic Center.

The victory was the 10th straight for the River Hawks, who improved to 14-3 overall and 9-3 in the NE-10 entering Tuesday's clash at New Haven (7:30). AIC slipped to 10-7 overall (6-6 in the Conference) and host Southern New Hampshire Tuesday night (7:30).

Colon also grabbed five rebounds while Caiola scored 11 of his points in the second half and also added three assists and three steals. Junior G Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) chipped in 10 points and five assists while junior C Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QUE) had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals, including a key block in the final seconds.

Sophomore G Sesoo Ikpah (Williamstown, NJ) led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points and seven rebounds while freshman G Isiah Wallace (Springfield, MA) added 16 points and seven rebounds.

"That was an extremely hard fought game and we again were able to play for 40 minutes," said UML Head Coach Greg Herenda. "We got down in the first half and did not panic. I cannot say enough about our team's character and will. They refuse to give in."

UMass Lowell outscored AIC 22-10 off turnovers, the result of 21 committed by the Yellow Jackets opposed to 12 by the River Hawks.

UMass Lowell also had the edge from 3-point range (24-12), which compensated for AIC's 16-11 advantage at the free throw line.

AIC jumped out to a 25-13 lead in the first half, but UMass Lowell found its touch and used a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 27-26 with 2:17 remaining behind. Colon led the run with a pair of free throws and a trey.

The River Hawks led 31-30 at the break and opened the second half with a 14-2 run to snatch a 45-32 cushion with 15:55 left to play. Carr led the surge with a jumper and a 3-point shot while Caiola meshed a pair of free throws and a layup.

UMass Lowell milked a nine-point lead (59-50) with 5:26 left to play, but AIC scored eight straight points - led by three points apiece from Ikpah and junior F Ryan Leak (Brooklyn, NY) - to cut the deficit to 59-58 with 45 seconds left.

Caiola buried a pair of free throws to give the River Hawks a 61-58 lead with 20 seconds left. With 11 seconds remaining, Kanaan blocked a layup by freshman G Adrian Hynes-Guery (Montreal, QUE) and Carr, who grabbed the rebound, converted both ends of a one-and-one to seal the win.

"Our guards did a great job of taking care of the ball," said Herenda. "I think Kevin Carr and Marcus Johnson (South Bend, IN) played very good floor games and Caiola came up big once again. I still do not like seeing Max (Kerman, currently injured) with street clothes on, but we are getting guys to step up in his absence."