University of Massachusetts Lowell
Shaw
River Hawks Bounce Back With 80-70 Victory Over Shaw
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2009
Behind a 25-point night from Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) and 23 points from Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH), the UMass Lowell River Hawks bounced back to an 80-70 win over Shaw in the consolation game of the Winter Park Tangerine Tournament at Rollins College on Wednesday afternoon.
"Today was a true gut check time for our team and we passed the test," head coach Greg Herenda said. "It was a team win, a character win against a quality basketball team."
Caiola was a perfect 13 for 13 from the line and Carr sank a trio of threes in each half. Caiola swiped a game-best six steals and grabbed two rebounds in the contest. Over the course of the tournament, Caiola netted 45 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
"Kyle and Kevin were huge for us offensively," Herenda said. "Marcus Johnson (South Bend, IN) and Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) were also huge for us defensively."
On the glass, senior forward Kanaan grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds, including 12 in the second half. He added three points, as well.
In a back-and-forth first half, the lead changed six times, but after Johnson made it a 19-18 game with 7:31 left in the first half, the River Hawks never relinquished the advantage. Johnson finished the game with seven points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
"I'm really proud of our players," Herenda said. "They were resilient playing a quality team in a tough environment."
Caiola drained a buzzer-beater layup to end the first, giving UMass Lowell the 39-30 lead going into the break. The River Hawks built their lead to as much as 11 with 6:32 left in the game, but the Bears brought it back within four with 59 seconds remaining. In the final 57 seconds of regulation, Caiola converted 8 of 8 free throws and Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN) added a pair to increase UMass Lowell’s breathing room. The River Hawks finished with a 10-point lead for their seventh victory of the season.
Improving greatly from yesterday’s tilt, UMass Lowell shot 56% in the first half (14 for 25) and held their opponent to 41.7% (20 for 48) in the game. The River Hawks owned a 30-26 advantage in rebounds and stole the ball 11 times, compared to the Bears’ seven steals.
Shaw was led by Raheem Smith, who tallied 21 points, including all four of the squad’s baskets from long range. On the boards, Britain Kelly led the Bears with five rebounds on the afternoon.
"I'm happy with our win in this prestigious tournament," Herenda said.
With the win in their final contest of 2009, UMass Lowell improves to 7-3 on the year, capturing third place in the Winter Park Tangerine Tournament. Shaw falls to 5-4 on the season and placed fourth.
UMass Lowell kicks off the New Year with a Northeast-10 conference game at Stonehill College in Easton, MA at 3:30 p.m.
