Jan. 16, 2010
Box Score
Despite an 18-point effort by Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) and a career-high 14 points from Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Boston, MA), the UMass Lowell River Hawks could not overcome a 23-point first half deficit in Saturday afternoon’s Northeast-10 Conference game against American International. The River Hawks eventually fell to the Yellow Jackets 71-51.
UMass Lowell stole the ball 11 times, compared to the Yellow Jackets’ two steals and the River Hawks forced 23 turnovers, while only committing 11 of their own. Despite the advantages, UMass Lowell was not able to capitalize on its opportunities, shooting 31.8% on the afternoon (21-66), while AIC went 22-51 in the game (43.1%).
“Our goal this year was to remain undefeated at home. Obviously that’s no longer a reality,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “AIC played a great basketball game tonight and we did not. They deserved to win.”
Despite the River Hawks opening the game with a Caiola jumper, AIC went on a 12-0 run for just over four minutes at the start of the game, going up 12-2 at 13:58. By halftime, the Yellow Jackets had built a 23-point lead, entering the locker room up 44-21. UMass Lowell shot just 28.1% in the first 20 minutes of play (9-32), while the Yellow Jackets shot 53.6% in the first half (15-28).
In the second half, UMass Lowell cut the Yellow Jacket lead to just 11 with 5:25 remaining in regulation, but forward Byron Richards subsequently drained a pair of threes to stop the River Hawk run and cushion AIC’s lead back to 17. UMass Lowell was unable to go on another offensive streak as the clock ran down, and AIC held on for the 20-point victory.
“We turned AIC over 23 times, but shot poorly and the AIC defense had a lot to do with that,” Herenda said. “If we don’t make shots, it puts a lot of pressure on our defense, which AIC had a lot of answers for tonight.”
Caiola grabbed a pair of rebounds and captured two steals in addition to his 18 points, going 7-for-16 in the contest. Tavares-Taylor also set a new career-best with six boards and added a pair of assists in the losing effort. The freshman guard went 6-10 from the floor, including sinking a pair of threes.
Also leading the River Hawks on the glass was senior guard Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN), who grabbed six, as well. He tallied seven points, dished one assist and grabbed a team-best three steals in the contest. Forward Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) tallied seven points, as well, and had five rebounds on the night.
Other notable contributions for UMass Lowell included sophomore Robbie Walton (Boston, MA) with a career-best four rebounds and senior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) with three blocks in the contest.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Anthony Thomas’ double-double, as he tallied 21 points and had 12 rebounds. The forward went 11-for-15 from the line and swatted two blocks in the game. Richards sank six three-pointers in the contest and finished the night with 19 points. Adrian Hynes-Guery came off the bench for AIC, tallying 13 points in the game.
With the loss, UMass Lowell now stands at 11-5 on the year and owns an 8-3 conference record. The Yellow Jackets are 7-9 overall with a 5-6 mark in NE-10 action.
“All we can do is get ready for Tuesday,” Herenda said. “We have a lot of work to do, to compete and win against a very good LeMoyne team.”
UMass Lowell looks to bounce back from its two-game skid, hosting the Dolphins of LeMoyne in an NE-10 tilt on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m in Costello Gym.
