Nov. 22, 2008

LOWELL - Freshman G Roland Davis (Deer Park, NY) came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points as Merrimack College defeated UMass Lowell, 85-79, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The loss was the first of the season for the River Hawks, who slipped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the NE-10 entering Tuesday's game at Stonehill (7:30). Merrimack improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Conference and hosts Southern New Hampshire Tuesday at 7:30.

Freshman G Sean Romsek (Fowlerville, MI) came off the bench to score 13 points, converting 5 of 9 field goals, including 3 of 5 from long range. Junior G Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN) added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists while junior G Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) also had 11 points (4-6 field goals) in 10 minutes.

Freshman G Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Senior F Chris Winters (East Lyme, CT) added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, converting 7 of 12 field goals, while junior G Darren Duncan (Briarwood, NY) had 18 points and nine assists.

Freshman G Wayne Mack (Paterson, NJ) chipped in 11 points while sophomore G Darin Mency (Hagerstown, MD) had 10 points and five rebounds.

UMass Lowell shot .528 for the game (28 for 53), but turned the ball over 23 times while Merrimack committed just nine turnovers. As a result, the Warriors outscored UML off miscues, 24-10.

"You have to give credit to Merrimack's first half defense," said UML Head Coach Greg Herenda. "We did not handle their pressure well and made some very costly turnovers."

Merrimack also converted 26 free throws (in 43 attempts) while the River Hawks shot 13 for 20 from the line. The River Hawks were whistled for 29 fouls (opposed to 19 for Merrimack) and lost Heatherly, Caiola and sophomore G Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) in the late minutes with their fifth fouls.

The Warriors led by 17 points (69-52) with 9:23 left to play, but the River Hawks clawed back with an 18-1 run to knot the score 70-70 with 4:19 left to play. Carr scored five points in the run while Caiola and Heatherly each had four points.

"We showed great heart and grit coming back to tie the game, but we just did not make the big plays down the stretch to beat a quality opponent," Herenda noted.

With a 75-74 lead with 2:54 remaining, Merrimack used a 9-2 run to seal the win behind six points from Winters.