Jan. 20, 2009

Box Score

WEST HAVEN, CT - Freshman G Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) scored 16 points and led four teammates in double figures as UMass Lowell defeated the University of New Haven, 77-70, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Charger Gymnasium.

The victory was the 11th straight for the River Hawks, who improved to 15-3 overall and 10-3 in the Conference (third place) entering Saturday's home tilt against Franklin Pierce (4:00).

New Haven slipped to 6-12 overall and 4-9 in the Conference.

Caiola also dished out three assists, grabbed four rebounds and committed three thefts while junior G Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) added 15 points and four assists while shooting 4 for 8 from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range.

Junior F Victor Colon (Chicago, IL) chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists while junior C Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QUE) had 11 points and seven rebounds. Freshman G Marcus Johnson (South Bend, IN) came off the bench to score 10 points (4-6 field goals) and dish four assists in 17 minutes.

"We came out and played so hard, but we just could not stop Chaney all night," said UML Head Coach Greg Herenda. "But our ability to get out to big early leads this year has been amazing."

Junior F Cassius Chaney led the Chargers with 30 points as he converted 9-18 field goal attempts and 9-13 free throws. Freshman G Josh Paulino (Methuen, MA) added 12 points and five rebounds while senior G D.J. Sackman chipped in 11 points.

UMass Lowell raced to a 41-20 lead at the half, the result of .500 field goal shooting (15-30), while the Chargers struggled to a .269 clip (7-26). New Haven, however, found its touch in the second half, shooting .577 from the field (15-26) while UMass Lowell shot .417 (10-24).

The River Hawks led 68-50 with 4:37 left in the game, but New Haven came back with a 17-4 run to cut the deficit to five (72-67) with 40 seconds left. Chaney led the run with nine points while Paulino added five.

The Chargers were forced to foul, however, and the River Hawks converted 5 of 6 free throws over the final 39 seconds to seal the win.

"Kyle and Kevin played very solid floor games," Herenda added. "Both of them made crucial free throws down the stretch."

In the first half, UMass Lowell raced to a 35-11 lead with 3:11 left in the half, hitting 9 of 14 attempts from 3-point range, including two apiece from Kanaan, junior G Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN) and Carr.