Nov. 22, 2011

Box Score

Sophomore G Mike Holton, Jr., scored a game-high 21 points as Saint Michael's College defeated No. 23 UMass Lowell, 69-59, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Ross Sports Center.

The loss was the first of the season for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Conference entering Sunday's home game against Southern New Hampshire (4:00).

Saint Michael's stopped a two-game slide and improved to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in the NE-10.

"Give all the credit to Saint Michael's," said head coach Greg Herenda. "They played a great game and forced us into many difficult shots. We never got into an offensive flow and they had a great deal to do with that."

Senior G Dipanjot Singh (Evanston, Ill.) and junior F Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) each scored 16 points for the River Hawks while sophomore G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Welch also grabbed seven rebounds while Singh had six (five offensive) and two assists.

Holton also had six rebounds and five assists while junior G Travis Warech added 14 points and six rebounds on 5 of 7 field goal shooting.

UMass Lowell, which was shooting better than .500 for the season, was off the mark to the tune of .328 from the field (21-64). Saint Michael's was slightly better at .431 (22-51), but shot .519 (14-27) in the first half in which it took a double digit lead and never looked back.

Saint Michael's fast start buffered UMass Lowell's 18-10 advantage on second chance points, the result of a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Purple Knights also outscored UMass Lowell at the free throw line 20-12.

Saint Michael's raced to a 29-12 lead to start the game behind 11 points from Holton while Warech added seven. UMass Lowell closed the gap to 10 points (38-28) with 50 seconds to go in the half behind seven points from Welch.

The River Hawks cut the lead to eight points on five occasions in the second half but could muster no closer.

"Winning on the road in this league is difficult and tonight we were not up to the task," Herenda added.