March 14, 2009

Box Score

Junior G Darren Duncan and sophomore G Darin Mency each scored 25 points as No. 6 Merrimack edged No. 3 UMass Lowell, 86-84 in overtime Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament East Regional opener at C.W. Post’s Pratt Recreation Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell ends a remarkable season with a 21-8 record while the Warriors move on to the East Region semifinal against the winner between No. 2 Bentley and No. 7 Bridgeport.

Sophomore G Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) scored a career-high 20 points while freshman G Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) also scored 20, including 15 in the second half and 11 in the final 5:27 and overtime.

Caiola converted 7 of 14 field goal attempts and all six free throws while Kerman shot 6 for 12 from the floor and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Junior G Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) added 17 points, six assists and five rebounds while junior C Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QUE) chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The game included 17 ties and eight lead changes.

“That was a great college basketball game. Hats off to Merrimack,” said UML Head Coach Greg Herenda. “I could not be prouder of our guys. They gave a great effort. We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the region.

“We were picked to finish 12th in our league,” added Herenda, who played and coached under Merrimack Head Coach Bert Hammell. “We just got better as the year went along. I’m happy for Bert.”

Duncan converted 17 of 20 free throws and dished out 11 assists while Mency shot 8 for 17 from the field and 4 for 9 from 3-point range while grabbing 11 rebounds.

“Our game plan was to contain Duncan without fouling him,” Herenda explained. “We made things difficult for him, but he’s a great player and he went to the line 20 times.”

Freshman G Roland Davis scored 15 points on 6 of 11 field goal shooting while junior G Craig Woehnker chipped in 11 points for the Warriors.

Led by Duncan, Merrimack outscored UMass Lowell 24-17 at the free throw line and outrebounded the River Hawks on the offensive end, 17-10, leading to a 19-11 scoring edge on the offensive glass.

The River Hawks opened the second half with a 10-2 run – led by a trey and layup by Kerman – to snatch a 43-35 lead.

Though it converted only three field goals in the first 11 minutes, Merrimack countered with a 12-2 spurt of its own to snatch a 47-45 lead with 11:51 left to play, with Duncan canning 6 of 6 free throws and a trey.

Neither team led by more than four points throughout the rest of regulation.

Duncan gave Merrimack a 75-72 lead with 47 seconds left after he hit the second of two free throws. But Caiola raced in for a layup and was fouled to knot the score at 75-75.

Following a timeout, a trey by Mency was off the mark with :04 left, as was a halfcourt attempt by Kanaan as the horn sounded.

In overtime, the Warriors jumped out to an 82-77 lead behind a trey by Davis and a layup by Duncan. But Kanaan came back with a conventional 3-point play and a pair of free throws to knot the score at 82 apiece with 1:15 left to play.

With 14 seconds left, Duncan found freshman F Aaron Strothers for a layup and a 86-84 lead. A jumper by Carr was off the mark with four seconds left, but UMass Lowell gathered the rebound and called a timeout.

Carr got the inbound in the left corner, and after a pump-fake, launched a three that was just off the mark as time expired.

“When Kevin let that go, I thought we were going to advance,” Herenda said. “That’s the great thing about the NCAAs – we were a shot that was in and out from getting to the next round.

“I’m disappointed that we lost,” he added. “We just wanted to play and practice together a little bit more. We have no seniors and next year we’ll be bigger, better and stronger. I’m already looking forward to next season.”