University of Massachusetts Lowell
Wilmington (DE)
River Hawks Fall to Wilmington, 74-63
1/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2010
The UMass Lowell River Hawks’ five-game win streak was snapped by a 74-63 loss to Wilmington University on Thursday evening. Despite a 30-point effort by Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH), the River Hawks were not able to overcome nearly 60% shooting in the second half by the Wildcats, en route to their fourth loss of the season.
Caiola went 9 for 15 from the floor and a perfect 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. He added two assists, grabbed four rebounds and sank a pair of threes in the tilt.
“Obviously the night did not go as planned. We were a step slow defensively and offensively, we never got into any rhythm,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “You have to hand it to Wilmington, they played hard and very well tonight.”
The game was close through the first half, as UMass Lowell kept it within five for a 26-21 halftime score. The River Hawks hovered around that differential until Blake Rubenstein sank four consecutive free throws four minutes into the half, as two technical fouls were assessed to the UMass Lowell bench, extending the Wildcat lead to nine.
The River Hawks kept pressuring their opponent, however, and brought the13-point Wilmington lead back down to eight with just under four minutes to play.
In a foul-ridden game, each team was in the double bonus for nearly 10 full minutes in the second half. The Wildcats were able to convert 21 of 29 from the line in the second, proving to make the difference in the game.
“Shooting the ball the way we did made it very difficult to beat anyone,” Herenda said of the River Hawks’34.8% shooting on the night (23-for-68).
Despite the outcome, UMass Lowell owned an 8-4 advantage in steals and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds compared to the Wildcats’ five. The Wildcats turned the ball over 21 times, while the River Hawks only surrendered the ball 10 times.
“We turned them over 21 times but we were never able to capitalize on that tonight,” Herenda said.
Also helping the River Hawk cause, center Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) had eight points and grabbed a team-best eight boards, while Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) tallied seven points and added a pair of assists in the game.
With the non-conference loss, UMass Lowell stands at 11-4 on the year with an 8-2 mark in Northeast-10 play. The Wildcats improve to 5-7 on the year with the victory.
Leading the Wildcats was Antonio Sherrod with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Rubenstein added 10 points and Vernon Dupree racked up 11 in the game.
The River Hawks return home on Saturday, Jan. 16, when they will host American International at 4:00 p.m. at Costello Gym.
