March 13, 2010

Box Score

After digging a 21-point hole in the first half of the NCAA East Regional Quarterfinal, the #6 UMass Lowell River Hawks (20-12) were unable to overcome the #3 Merrimack Warriors (21-8), falling to their rival 81-62 on Saturday in Stonehill's Merkert Gymnasium. This was the second consecutive year the Warriors ousted the River Hawks from the NCAA Tournament.

Merrimack came out strong, shooting 58.6% (17-29) in the first, while holding the River Hawks to just six field goals before the break. Darin Mency led four Merrimack players in double-figures, enjoying a double-double on the afternoon. He had a game-best 21 points and 12 rebounds, including 13 points in the first half.

Kyle Caiola (Parma, Ohio) led the River Hawks with 16 points, also dishing five assists and grabbing three steals in the loss. Fellow guard Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, MA) notched 10 points and also grabbed three steals on the afternoon.

After trailing 47-26 at halftime, UMass Lowell shot 50.0% in the second (15-30) and outscored its opponent 36-34 in the final 20 minutes of play. The River Hawks forced 24 Warrior turnovers compared to 21 of their own, but only tallied 22 points off turnovers, while Merrimack capitalized on the UMass Lowell miscues by tallying 25 off turnovers.

Merrimack owned the decisive 47-27 rebounding advantage, including a 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass, contributing to their 18-2 advantage in second chance points.

The normally offense-oriented teams were held to a combined 13 points in the first seven minutes of play (9-4, Merrimack) before the Warriors went on a 23-5 run over the next six minutes (32-9). The River Hawks were on target to finish the half on a 6-0 run before Darren Duncan sank a buzzer beating three pointer to stop UMass Lowell's spree before entering the locker room.

"Merrimack was great and we just never sustained anything offensively today," head coach Greg Herenda said.  "We defended very well for the first seven minutes but we could not buy a bucket."

The sharp-shooting Merrimack squad sank 13 baskets from long range in the victory, while UMass Lowell as held to just six in the game. The squads were nearly even in steals with 13 for UMass Lowell and 12 for Merrimack, but the River Hawks were unable to string together a strong offensive run.

Senior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) grabbed four rebounds and seven points, blocking three Merrimack shots, as well. Classmate Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) drained 3-5 from behind the arc, finishing the game with nine points.

Junior Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) went 3-5 from the floor, tallying six points, three boards and a steal in the tilt, while freshman Matt Welch (Lowell, MA) had eight points and four rebounds off the bench.

For Merrimack, Wayne Mack notched 15, while Duncan finished the afternoon with 11 points and eight assists. Roland Davis came off the Warrior bench to contribute 11 points, grab four rebounds and dish three assists.

"Our hats go off to Bert [Hammel] and his team," Herenda said.  "They made shots, defended great and rebounded the ball."

With the loss, UMass Lowell completes the 2009-10 campaign with a 20-12 record after earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for capturing the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.

"We had a great year with a Conference title and another NCAA appearance," Herenda said.  "I wish we could have played more consistent basketball this afternoon, but winning the NE-10 Title and 20 games in a season is a pretty darn good year."

The squad graduates five seniors in Carr, Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN), Kanaan, Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) and Terrel Randle (Concord, MA).