Box Score

Freshman F Kennedy Chukwuocha (Willingboro, N.J.) drained a 3-pointer with .8 seconds remaining in regulation to bring UMass Lowell and Southern Connecticut even at 88-88; a conference game that UMass Lowell would ultimately win, 98-94 in overtime at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts on Saturday night.
 
The win brings UMass Lowell to 10-3 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The River Hawks are back in action on Tuesday, January 15 when they host Adelphi (4:00).
 
Southern Connecticut falls to 8-5 overall on the season and 5-4 in the Northeast-10. The Owls travel to Saint Michael's on Tuesday, January 15 (7:30).

"That was exciting stuff," said head coach Greg Herenda. "Both teams had a hard time stopping one another, but Kennedy made the big shot and my guys took over in overtime."
 
Chukwuocha hit the big shot, but it was junior G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) who led the team in scoring. Williams finished the game with 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Junior F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) tallied a double-double with his 25 points and 12 rebounds. Chukwuocha finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
 
Senior F Trevon Hamlet led the Owls with 28 points to go along with his eight rebounds. Junior G Greg Langston also chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds.
 
UMass Lowell took a 49-42 lead into half time after sophomore G Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) knocked down a jumper and then followed with two free throws to close the half. Holley would finish the game with 12 points.
 
However, Southern Connecticut would outscore the River Hawks, 43-36, in the second half, and took a 78-73 lead with three minutes to play in regulation when R-senior Rashmell Vereen took the ball to the rim and finished with a loud slam.
 
UMass Lowell would respond, though, and even the score at 82-82 when Williams hit two big free throws with just under a minute left to play.
 
Trailing by three points with just five seconds remaining, Bivins spotted up for a three from the left wing. Bivins' shot rimmed out, but the rebound found Chukwuocha who knocked down the game-tying three pointer from the top of the arc, sending the game into overtime.
 
In the overtime, UMass Lowell outscored Southern Connecticut 13-9, and after some clutch free throws, escaped with a conference victory over the Owls.

"We had some foul trouble to deal with but Antonio and Akeem put up some very impressive numbers to lead us to a very exciting win," Herenda noted. "Southern Connecticut is a very talented and extremely well-coached team. We were very fortunate to win the game today."
           
UMass Lowell was able to outshoot Southern Connecticut from the floor 46.2% (30-65) to 44.1% (30-68). Still, the biggest discrepancy came from the free throw line. The River Hawks knocked down 91.2% (31-34) of its free throws, while the Owls struggled, going just 76.3% (29-38) from the stripe.