Nov. 19, 2008

RINDGE, NH - Junior F Victor Colon (Chicago, IL) registered 16 points and junior G Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN) 14 as UMass Lowell defeated Franklin Pierce, 64-44, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the FPU Fieldhouse.

With the victory, the River Hawks improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's home clash against Merrimack (4:00). The Ravens slipped to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the Conference with the loss.

Colon converted 6 of 11 field goal attempts, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, while Heatherly shot 5 for 6 overall and 4 for 5 from long range and also dished out four assists.

Sophomore G Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) had 11 points (5 for 7 field goals) and also chipped in five steals and three assists and junior C Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QUE) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in addition to eight points and two assists.

The River Hawks shot .462 for the game (24-52) and .545 from 3-point territory (12-22) while the Ravens struggled to a .316 clip (12-38) and .200 shooting from long range (3-15).

"Obviously when you shoot the ball the way we did tonight helps a great deal, but our defense was again the key to our victory tonight," said UML Head Coach Greg Herenda. "Every night it can be a different guy. Tonight Craig and Victor were huge in the first half and Max got on track which was great to see."

UML also outscored FPU 19-11 off turnovers as it forced 23 while committing 15.

The River Hawks established a 40-20 lead at the break as Colon erupted for 16 of his points, converting 6 of 8 field goals and 4 of r 5 from 3-point range. Collectively, UML shot .519 for the half and meshed 10 of 16 attempts from long range.

UML maintained the pressure in the second half and limited the Ravens to only a single field goal in the first 10:00. The River Hawks led by as many as 25 (51-26) with 12:12 left in the game.

"Anytime you win on the road in conference it is big," Herenda noted. "Our team played their hearts out tonight from beginning to end."