Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score

The #6 UMass Lowell River Hawks advance to the 2011 Northeast-10 Tournament Quarterfinal with a 75-66 win over the #11 Merrimack Warriors on Saturday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center. The River Hawks were led by the trio of Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.), Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) and Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.), tallying 21 points apiece on the day.

UMass Lowell improves to 19-8 on the year, while Merrimack finishes its season 13-14. The Warriors ended the River Hawks' season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in both 2009 and 2010, while it was UMass Lowell's turn to return the favor this year.

The River Hawks will head to Easton, Mass. to take on Stonehill in the NE-10 Quarterfinal on Monday evening at 7 p.m. Stonehill earned the #3 seed in this year's tournament behind a 16-6 record in conference action, while they stand at 21-6 overall.

In this afternoon's clash, UMass Lowell got off to a steady start, holding a five-point lead for most of the first half. The River Hawks led 31-26 with 5:34 remaining in the stanza, but Merrimack held UMass Lowell scoreless for the remainder of the half, streaking onto an 11-0 run that saw the Warriors lead by six at the half, 37-31.

"In the first, we allowed Merrimack too many [second chances]," said Head Coach Greg Herenda. "They're a very good team that was picked second in the league and I think that 1-5, they're as good as anybody in the league. Our guys were a little slow to the basketball on both ends of the floor and Merrimack put together a great effort on the glass in the first half. Our guys did it in the second."

The River Hawks stayed steady to start the second, climbing back on top thanks to a pair of layups from Williams and a layup by sophomore Romeo Diaz (Methuen, Mass.). The quick 6-0 stretch saw the River Hawks go from down by five (44-39) to up by one in a two-minute span.

After trailing 49-48 on a three from Roland Davis, UMass Lowell bolted to a 13-0 run, led by four points from Bivins, three from Welch and contributions from Williams, Diaz and freshman Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.). The streak put them up 61-49 at the midway point of the half and the River Hawks never looked back.

The short Merrimack bench ran out of steam before it was able to catch back up to the River Hawks, who went on to win the game by a nine-point margin, 75-66.

"I was proud to be an alum, looking back after the first half," said Herenda, Merrimack Class of 1983. "Those five guys came and they came ready to play. And I was proud to be the River Hawk coach in the second."

In addition to his 21 points, Welch was tied for a team-high nine rebounds, while Diaz grabbed the same number on the glass. Diaz contributed seven points and a pair of assists, while Welch had a pair of assists and blocks, going 9-17 from the floor.

Williams went 9-19 from the floor, dishing six assists and grabbing three steals, while Bivins came off the bench to go 8-12 from the floor with three rebounds and four steals in the game. Junior Robbie Walton (South Boston, Mass.) chipped in five assists, four rebounds, three steals and as many points.

UMass Lowell owned the 40-25 advantage in the paint and despite being outrebounded, 38-32, converted their 11 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points. They forced 18 Merrimack turnovers and capitalized on the Warrior miscues by outscoring them 23-12 off turnovers.

Merrimack was led offensively by Davis with 19 points, while Aaron Strothers record a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Darin Mency and Wayne Davis also scored in double-figures with 13 points apiece.