Nov. 30, 2011

Box Score

Senior G Andre Tongo scored 17 points as Stonehill College defeated UMass Lowell, 72-59, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tilt at the Merkert Gymnasium.

The loss was the third straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's clash against Merrimack at the Tsongas Center (4:00).

Stonehill improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Conference.

Sophomore G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) led UMass Lowell with 21 points while sophomore G Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) added 13 points and three assists.

Tongo meshed 3 of 6 attempts from 3-point range while junior G Adam Fazzini added 15 points and three rebounds on 5-10 field goal shooting. Senior F Patrick Lee grabbed 10 rebounds in addition to scoring nine points.

Stonehill forced UMass Lowell into 17 turnovers while committing only 12, but made the most of the margin, outscoring the River Hawks 27-9 off miscues. The Skyhawks also outscored UMass Lowell at the free throw line, 21-14, and on second chance points, 14-8, the result of a 17-10 deficit on offensive rebounds.

Neither team shot very well - Stonehill .356 (21-59) and UMass Lowell .388 (19-49) - but the River Hawks particularly struggled in the pivotal second half to a rate of .294 (7-24).

"Our offense is struggling," said head coach Greg Herenda. "We are not taking good shots and we're turning the ball over. That's not a good combination. We did a nice job limiting Stonehill's interior game, but we gave up nine threes."

Stonehill led 46-45 midway through the second half, but the Skyhawks went on a 10-1 spurt to snatch a 56-46 lead with 8:44 left to play. Tongo and Fazzini each hit 3-pointers to lead the run.

UMass Lowell cut the lead to seven, 64-57, with 1:34 left, but Stonehill ended the game with an 8-2 run, hitting 6 of 6 free throw attempts over the last 1:08.

"Saturday is a great opportunity to get back to the Tsongas Center and play in a great arena in front of our own fans," Herenda noted.