Nov. 21, 2009

Box Score

Thanks to an 18-point, eight rebound performance by Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week Romeo Diaz (Methuen, MA) and 18 points from NE-10 Player of the Week Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH), the UMass Lowell River Hawks (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) earned a 75-60 win over Caldwell College (0-2, 0-0 CACC North) in a non-conference tilt at Costello Athletic Center on Saturday evening.

In addition to his near double-double, Diaz grabbed three steals in the game and went 6 for 11 from the floor, including a 4 for 5 mark from behind the arc. Caiola went 5 for 10 from the floor en route to his third consecutive double-digit performance of the season and went 11 for 12 from the charity stripe in the game, improving him to .900 on the season (18 for 20).

“Obviously Romeo feels comfortable in Costello Gym,” head coach Greg Herenda said of Diaz’s second double-digit performance at home this season. The freshman guard/forward notched 21 points and 10 rebounds in the season-opener against Mercy College last Sunday. “He was huge for us offensively.”

UMass Lowell was up by 10 entering halftime, 40-30, but the Cougars narrowed the gap to five after opening the second with five unanswered points. Four minutes into the second half, though, the River Hawks went on a 13-0 run, breaking the game open and never looking back. The offensive frenzy began with a layup by Caiola at the 16:00 mark and was capped off by an Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.) free throw with 11:38 left in the game.

Despite UMass Lowell going up by as much as 25 points, Caldwell brought the game back within 13 with just under a minute to play. The River Hawks held onto the 15 point advantage, though, earning their third win of the year.

“To be 3-0 and 1-0 in the Northeast-10 without Max [Kerman] (Watertown, MA) and Ali makes me feel good about our team,” Herenda said. Kanaan missed the first two games with an injury and saw limited playing time today, while Kerman is slated to return to the lineup on Tuesday. “We are improving game-by-game and I’m happy with the direction we’re heading in.”

The River Hawks shot an impressive .571 (12 for 21) from the floor in the first half, .479 (23 for 48) overall, and held their opponent to .375 (21-56) in the contest. The squads committed an even 23 turnovers apiece in the game, while UMass Lowell stole the ball 10 times compared to the Cougars’ seven.

“Our press was good enough to hurt Caldwell,” Herenda said. “In the second half, obviously our defense took it up a notch and enabled us to score with more consistency.”

Senior Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) tallied 13 points and grabbed eight boards on the night, while rookie Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Boston, MA) had his third straight double-digit game, tallying 10 on the day. He went 3 for 4 from the floor and was a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

The Cougars were led by junior forward Tyler Emmons (Portland, ME) with 14 points and eight rebounds, along with senior John Reed’s (Wall, NJ) 11 point performance.

The River Hawks return to the court on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. when they will host the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire College in NE-10 Conference action.