Feb. 27, 2011

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The sixth-seeded UMass Lowell River Hawks (19-8) head to Easton, Mass. to take on the third-seeded Stonehill Skyhawks (21-6) in the Northeast-10 Tournament Quarterfinal on Monday evening at 7 p.m. in Merkert Gymnasium.

UMass Lowell owns a 14-6 all-time record in the Northeast-10 Tournament, with three championships to date, and has made the post-season nine of the last ten seasons. The River Hawks, the defending NE-10 Tournament Champions, defeated Merrimack, 75-66, on Saturday to send them to the Quarterfinals, while Stonehill earned a bye through the first round.

"We have a chance on Monday to play a very good Stonehill team that defends and plays hard," said Head Coach Greg Herenda. "I know my guys are going to be up to the task and be ready."

The River Hawks are 4-5 in NE-10 Quarterfinal action, most recently downing Bentley on the road in last year's tournament, 76-63, en route to capturing the 2010 Title. They have never faced the Skyhawks in the conference tournament and Stonehill captured an 89-80 win over UMass Lowell in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, the teams' lone post-season meeting.

This marks the third time this season that the River Hawks and Skyhawks have met, with Stonehill sweeping the regular season. The teams first met at UMass Lowell's Costello Gymnasium on Jan. 2, when Stonehill captured a 69-58 victory, before clashing in Merkert Gymnasium on Feb. 5. In the more recent game, the Skyhawks downed UMass Lowell 86-56.

The River Hawks are coming off their 75-66 win over Merrimack on Saturday and have won nine of their last 11 games. The only two losses came on the road to top-ranked Bentley and Stonehill.

UMass Lowell's offense, averaging 71.7 PPG is led by freshman point guard Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) with 17.8 PPG. Not far behind is sophomore Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) with 14.5. Nearing the double-digit mark are sophomore Romeo Diaz (Methuen, Mass.) with 9.6 a game and freshman Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) who averages 9.5. Junior Robbie Walton (South Boston, Mass.) leads the conference in steals with 2.6 a game and has a team-high 4.0 assists per game.

Stonehill is coming off a close 52-51 loss to Bentley in the regular season finale at home on Wednesday, but has won eight of its last 10. The Skyhawks are led by Ivan Almeida's 13.0 PPG, while senior Mike Kernan averages a double-double with 12.3 PPG and 10.5 APG on the year. Also averaging in double-figures is NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year Daniel Heppert with 10.2 PPG. Guard Sam Markle averages 5.1 APG, ranked second in the conference.

Despite averaging just 69.8 PPG, Stonehill holds opponents to an average 59.5 PPG, going 16-6 on the year in conference play to earn the third seed in the tournament and first round bye.

UMass Lowell owns the slight 21-17 advantage in the all-time series between the rivals, but the Stonehill has won the last three in a row, dating back to Jan. 2010. In the last 10 meetings, however, UMass Lowell has captured six wins.

Tickets for the game are $7 for adults, $4 for children (12 and under) and senior citizens, while students are granted $1 admission with a valid student ID.

For those unable to attend, live stats, audio and video are available on www.StonehillSkyhawks.com.