Dec. 29, 2009
Box Score
Coming off a three-week hiatus, the UMass Lowell River Hawks fell to the Clayton State Lakers in the first round of the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament at Rollins College, 82-60, on Tuesday afternoon.
Despite jumping to an 11-2 lead early on, the River Hawks weren’t able to hold on, as Clayton State came back with a 12-0 run and capitalized on the shift in momentum. The Lakers took a 16-15 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half and never looked back.
“Clayton State is a very good basketball team,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “They shot well in transition and were very hard to guard all night.”
Sophomore guard Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) led the River Hawks with a 20-point performance. After not making a field goal in the first half, he tallied 16 in the second half alone. He was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line and added two assists and three rebounds in the game.
Also a strong offensive producer for UMass Lowell was Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH), who kicked off UMass Lowell’s early lead with a trio of three-pointers in just over a minute, finishing the game with 12 points.
“We jumped to an early lead, but weren’t able to sustain any offensive continuity,” Herenda said.
On the glass, Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) led the River Hawks with six boards, while fellow forward Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) grabbed five.
The Lakers owned a strong 36-18 advantage in the paint and outrebounded the River Hawks, 40-32. Defensively, they held the River Hawks to just 19.2% from the floor in the first half (5 for 26) and 27.6% in the game (16 for 58).
They were led by Timothy Downs’ 18 points, but had three other players scoring in double-digits. Torrin Greene came off the bench to lead the Lakers with seven rebounds.
“This is a great tournament to be a part of,” Herenda said. “We need to bounce back tomorrow afternoon and play better.”
With the loss, UMass Lowell falls to 6-3 on the year and the Lakers improve to 6-4. The River Hawks will play in the consolation game of the Tangerine Tournament tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. against either Shaw or tournament-host Rollins.
