March 11, 2010

NCAA East Region Information Center | Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video | Photo Gallery: Road to the NCAA Tournament

In a rematch of both the 2010 Northeast-10 Tournament Semifinal and the 2009 NCAA East Regional Quarterfinal, the sixth-seeded UMass Lowell River Hawks (20-11) are set to take on the third-seeded Warriors of Merrimack College (20-8) on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. at Stonehill's Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, MA in the 2010 NCAA Tournament East Regional Quarterfinal.

UMass Lowell owns a 15-6 all-time record in seven appearances the NCAA Tournament and has made the Tournament in each of the last two seasons, while the Warriors have made the NCAA Tournament three years in a row and will be making their ninth appearance all-time, looking to improve on their 6-7 record.

Most recently, the River Hawks earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament with a 73-58 victory over Adelphi on Saturday. Merrimack earned an at-large berth for their strong play all season and were most recently defeated by UMass Lowell in the NE-10 Semifinal last Thursday, 80-70.

"Merrimack presents so many problems for everybody they play. They have tremendous offensive weapons and their defensive pressure is an issue as well," head coach Greg Herenda said. "We just need to step up again and compete really hard against a great team."

The River Hawks are 6-1 in NCAA First Round play and have only played the Warriors once before in the Tournament. The meeting came the same round of last year's Tournament, as the Warriors came away with the 86-84 overtime victory before eventually falling to Bentley in the East Regional Semifinal, 79-76 in double overtime. Merrimack defeated the River Hawks in both regular season meetings this season, first with a 71-56 decision at the Volpe Center on Nov. 29 before a 93-88 battle at Costello on Feb. 13.

In the last game, played in North Andover on March 4, UMass Lowell came away with the 80-70 victory behind a game- and personal-best 32 points by sophomore Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) and 16 points and 15 boards by senior center Ali Kanaan (Monteal, Que.). Merrimack's Darren Duncan tallied 28 points in the losing effort, as the River Hawks owned the 52-36 advantage on the glass.

The River Hawks are currently led by Caiola's 20.4 PPG and 47.2% shooting from the floor. The guard ranks fourth in the nation with 90.5% shooting from the line. Senior Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) is draining an average of 2.69 threes per game, while Kanaan leads the way on the glass with 6.0 rebounds per game. The center also anchors the squad's third-ranked 3.81 blocks per game by swatting 1.8 blocks per tilt (4th NE-10).

The Warriors, who are a perfect 15-0 when scoring 80 points or more this season, are led offensively by NE-10 First-Team All-Conference selection Duncan (19.2 PPG) and his 6.8 assists/game rank him fifth in the nation. His 2.6 steals per tilt also rank him ninth in the country, while his team is stealing a conference-best 9.39 balls per game. Three other Warriors are averaging double-figure scoring, including Darin Mency (16.4 PPG), Roland Davis (12.5 PPG) and Aaron Strothers (10.2 PPG). Strothers also leads the conference with 71.3% shooting from the floor.

"I think both Bert and I would rather not be playing against one another again," Herenda said. "But I am very happy that we are both coaching in the NCAA East Regionals instead of watching them."

Tickets for the game are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and students. For those unable to attend, free live video streaming is being broadcast via the NCAA website and can be viewed here, while live stats are also available here.