Feb. 3, 2010

Box Score

In a tilt for the ages, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (14-7, 11-5 NE-10) overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half to earn an 85-82 overtime victory over the Saint Michael's College Purple Knights (8-12, 4-12) in Northeast-10 action at home on Wednesday evening.

Sophomore Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) led the way with 28 points, going 10-18 from the floor and 3-5 from behind the arc. The guard was a perfect 5-5 from the line and had a pair of assists and rebounds on the night. Senior forward Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) enjoyed a double-double, tallying 14 points and 11 boards (six offensive), also notching five blocks and three steals in the game.

"We cannot continue to live like this," head coach Greg Herenda said of the deficit, "but it shows how much heart and character this basketball team has."

The Purple Knights bolted to a 24-2 lead to open the game and shot 60.7% (17-28) in the first half to outscore UMass Lowell 41-20 in the first 20 minutes of play. Freshman Travis Warech tallied 16 in the first and led Saint Michael's with 25 on the night.

Coming back from the break, Saint Michael's held onto its lead and even jumped to a 24-point advantage (61-37) with 11:25 remaining. UMass Lowell then chipped away, going on a 39-15 run in the final 10:43 of regulation. The streak was highlighted by 11 points from Caiola and eight by Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, MA). Sophomore guard Marcus Johnson (South Bend, IN) tallied all six of his points during the stretch, coming in clutch for the River Hawks. The streak was sealed by a Max Kerman (Watertown, MA) three point play that tied the game at 72 with 1:28 remaining in the second.

"The combination of Ali, Caiola and Robbie was huge for us tonight and they really took command of the game. Then we put Max in, in a tough spot, and he hit maybe the biggest shot of the game," Herenda said. "Marcus was big for us off the bench, too, and really delivered in crunch time."

In the extra stanza, it was Robbie Walton (Boston, MA) that tallied four of the River Hawks' nine points, including a pair of game-sealing free throws with eight seconds remaining to put UMass Lowell up by three.

Walton finished the night with nine points, a new career high, four rebounds and three steals. Tavares-Taylor contributed 14 on the night, including four field goals from long range, and dished four assists in the victory.

The River Hawks forced 27 turnovers by their opponent and capitalized by tallying 27 points off the Purple Knights' mistakes. The squad also grabbed 13 steals, compared to Saint Michael's six on the night. With the victory, the River Hawks completed the regular season sweep of the Purple Knights.

Aside from Warech's efforts, the Purple Knights' Sam Cieplicki sank the late-game three that sent the game into overtime and finished the night with 20 points. Forward Tyler Schilling finished the game with a team-best 11 boards.

"Saint Mike's did everything but win the game tonight," Herenda said. "In my 27 years in college basketball, I've never seen a team play as hard as ours for 45 minutes and just not wilt. I think that this is one of the best wins Costello Gymnasium has ever seen."

UMass Lowell returns to its home court to host Stonehill College for an NE-10 match on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.