Nov. 27, 2011

Box Score | Video Highlights/Herenda Interview

Sophomore F B.J. Cardarelli came off the bench to score 24 points and grab seven rebounds as Southern New Hampshire defeated UMass Lowell, 80-68, Sunday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The loss was the second straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the NE-10 entering Wednesday's clash at Stonehill (7:30).

Southern New Hampshire improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Conference and hosts Franklin Pierce Wednesday at 7:30.

Sophomore G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) led UMass Lowell with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals on 7 of 13 field goal shooting. Junior F Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) added 15 points while sophomore F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) chipped in 13 points and five rebounds on 6-11 field goal shooting.

Cardarelli converted 8-11 field goals, 3-4 from 3-point range and all five attempts from the free throw line. Senior G Lucas Croteau scored 16 points on 7-9 FG shooting while freshman F Elijah Bonsignore chipped in 12 points and three rebounds.

Freshman F Aleksandar Dobrovic scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists while shooting 4-8 from the floor.

Turnovers were even at 17-17, but it was the Penmen who capitalized, outscoring UMass Lowell, 24-11 off turnovers.

"We came out very early with great energy, but we didn't sustain it over the course of the game," said head coach Greg Herenda. "We just had a hard time defending them the entire game and tonight was the first game where we did not take very good care of the basketball."

Southern New Hampshire shot .508 for the game (31-61), including .593 in the first half (16-27). UMass Lowell shot .435 overall (27-62), including .500 in the first half but only .367 in the second half (11-30) opposed to SNHU's .441 second half clip (15-34).

Southern New Hampshire opened the second half with a 17-4 run to snatch a 58-45 lead with 14:30 left to play, led by a 3-point shot and a jumper by Cardarelli as well as a layup and jumper by Croteau.

Trailing 63-47 with 12:26 left, UMass Lowell used a 12-3 spurt to cut the deficit to 66-59 with 7:40 remaining. Williams led the run with five points while Bivins added four points and capped the run with his fourth dunk of the game.

Southern New Hampshire never allowed the River Hawks within seven points the rest of the way.

"We now need to rebound and get ready for Stonehill on Wednesday," Herenda noted.