Feb. 8, 2011

Box Score

The UMass Lowell men's basketball team held strong for a 67-63 victory over the Southern New Hampshire Penmen on Tuesday evening at home. Freshman Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) contributed 15 off the bench to lead the River Hawks to the conference victory at Costello Athletic Center.

With the win, UMass Lowell improves to 15-7 on the year with an 11-7 record in Northeast-10 play, while Southern New Hampshire falls to 10-12 overall with a 6-12 clip in conference action. The victory completed UMass Lowell's season sweep of the Penmen and was the River Hawks' fourth straight victory over their conference foe.

UMass Lowell began the night with a barrage of threes, scoring all of their first 12 points from behind the arc, led by a pair from freshman Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.), who finished the night with 12 points.

"I'm just proud of my guys for not having their A-game and still winning tonight," said Head Coach Greg Herenda.  "We found a way to win when we easily could have rolled over and lost."

The teams stayed close through much of the first, but UMass Lowell pulled ahead by five on a three from Chris Thompson (Florence, N.J.) at the five minute mark. The Penmen would come back to tie it at 27 with just under three minutes remaining in the half, but the River Hawks got back on top to hold a two-point, 31-29 lead at the break.

In the second, UMass Lowell led by four after sophomore Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) sank a jumper to make it 33-29, but the Penmen retaliated, jetting off to a 12-2 run to go up by 6 with 14 minutes remaining in regulation. A dunk by Bivins stopped the bleed and the River Hawks never trailed by more than five the rest of the game.

Bivins went on to score on three straight possessions to keep the River Hawks within striking distance, while the River Hawks gained the two-point lead with 7:24 to go thanks to a three from Thompson to make it a 49-47 ballgame.

Despite another two ties, UMass Lowell never fell behind Southern New Hampshire again, holding on for the eventual, four-point victory.

Bivins went 7-13 from the floor and also added six rebounds in addition to his 15-point performance. Williams tallied five rebounds and as many assists to complement his 12-point showing.

Also in double-figures was Welch, who finished the game with 14 points and seven boards, while freshman Kerry Weldon (New York, N.Y.) led the River Hawks with nine rebounds on the night. Classmate Thompson finished the night with a personal-best nine points, also grabbing a pair of rebounds in the game.

Sophomore Romeo Diaz (Methuen, Mass.) grabbed seven rebounds and six points in the game, while junior Robbie Walton (South Boston, Mass.) chipped in six points, five boards, four assists and three steals.

"That's our 15th win and I'm proud of my team," said Herenda.  "I'm not necessarily proud of our production or output today, but they found a way to keep a team that's very hot at 63 points."

Leading the way for the Penmen was Tory Stapleton with a game-high 16 points, while three others scored in double-figures, including forward Cory Vejraska who was just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

UMass Lowell held the 47-41 advantage in rebounds, including a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass, helping them to outscore Southern New Hampshire 19-7 on second chance opportunities.

The River Hawks stole the ball seven times compared to just one swipe by the Penmen and committed 10 turnovers compared to 13 by Southern New Hampshire.

Next in line, UMass Lowell hits the road for a pair of games, first taking on the Warriors of Merrimack College on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. in North Andover, followed by the Falcons of Bentley University on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.