Dec. 2, 2009
Box Score
The River Hawks dropped their second straight contest, an 81-56 decision, at Northeast-10 foe, No. 10 Bentley University on Wednesday evening in conference action at the Dana Athletic Center in Waltham.
“Bentley played a very, very strong basketball game from top to bottom,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “They were tough to handle and proved tonight why they deserve to be the 10th ranked team in the nation.”
Senior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) went 6 for 9 from the floor, leading the River Hawks with 12 points in the game. He also grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot in the game.
The Falcons shot 50.9% from the floor (29 for 57) in the game and sunk six 3-pointers in the first half, giving them an 18-point lead entering the break. Bentley was led by Jason Westrol (Brielle, NJ) who earned a double-double by way of a game-high 22 points and 11 boards, also adding eight assists on the night.
“Right now, our offense needs to get better. It’s putting a lot of pressure on our defense and we need to do a better job of putting the ball in the basket,” Herenda said. “We have shot 7-48 from three-point range in the last two games and we have good shooters.”
The River Hawks cut a 24-point lead down to 14 with 9:27 left in the game. Their 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) and Max Kerman (Watertown, MA), but the momentum swing didn’t last long, as Bentley slowly built its lead back up to its eventual 25-point margin of victory.
Junior guard Kerman led UMass Lowell on the boards, grabbing six rebounds in the game. He dished three assists and went 3 for 7 from behind the arc. Teammate Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) also scored in double digits, netting 10 points for the River Hawks.
On the glass, the advantage was in the Falcons’ favor, as they outrebounded the River Hawks 40-27 in the game.
With the loss, UMass Lowell stands at 4-2 on the year with an even 2-2 record in conference action. Bentley improves to 5-1 overall with a 3-1 mark in Northeast-10 play.
The River Hawks return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host Saint Anselm at Costello Athletic Center.
