Feb. 13, 2010
Box Score
The UMass Lowell River Hawks (15-9, 12-7 NE-10) lost a close tilt to Northeast-10 Conference foe Merrimack (15-7, 13-6), 93-88, at Costello Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
UMass Lowell jumped to an early lead, opening the game 14-5, until Merrimack stormed back on a 16-0 run to make it a 21-14 game in the Warriors’ favor. Merrimack then built up a 23-point lead (47-24) before the River Hawks went on a 16-1 run to finish the first half and bring the game back within eight.
During the stretch, freshman Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, MA) tallied seven points, while teammates Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH), Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) and Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) all sank threes to help lift the River Hawks.
Momentum shifted back to the Warriors’ side, though, as they built the lead back up to 19 in the second. Although Merrimack was up 81-62 with 6:52 remaining in the game, UMass Lowell would not give up, tearing on a 26-10 run to bring the game within four (92-88) with 13 seconds remaining. The efforts came too late, though, as Merrimack was able to seal the victory on a Darin Mency free throw with 10 seconds left, to give the Warriors the 93-88 victory.
“It was a matter of time before Merrimack shot the ball well, since they are such an explosive offensive team,” head coach Greg Herenda said. “Our ability to come back against very good teams is still there, but it’s very hard against a team as skilled as Merrimack.”
Caiola finished the night with a team-best 18 points and dished four assists in the game, while Tavares-Taylor set a new personal-best with 15 points in the game, going 6-9 from the floor.
Also scoring in double figures was Carr, who sank four three-pointers and tallied five assists on the afternoon. Freshman Matt Welch (Lowell, MA) nearly notched a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds after going 5-10 from the floor and 3-4 from behind the arc.
On the glass, Kerman tallied a team-best 10 rebounds, adding seven points and two steals in the effort, while senior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) had 11 points and nine boards, going a perfect 4-4 from the line.
The River Hawks outrebounded their opponent 48-40, including a 23-10 advantage on the offensive glass. The offensive boards contributed to their 18 points off second chances. The River Hawks also owned the slight advantages in steals (8-6) and forced turnovers (15-13).
Merrimack was led by Mency’s 20 points and seven rebounds, while Darren Duncan notched 16 and grabbed a team-best eight boards. The guard also went a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Off the bench, Craig Woehnker gave the Warriors 17 points.
“Realistically, we have three games left and each game is an NCAA game for us,” Herenda said. “Wednesday is senior night and I would like nothing more than for them to go out on a winning note at Costello.”
The River Hawks look to bounce back with a battle against Bentley at home on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The contest is the River Hawks’ final home game of the regular season and will honor the five-member senior Class of 2010.
