Oct. 15, 2009

Photo Gallery: River Hawks Kick Off 2009-10 Season with Midnight Practice

The UMass Lowell men's basketball squad began its season with a midnight practice session on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, kicking off the 2009-10 campaign and the River Hawks' quest for dominance this season.

"I was very pleased with our practice tonight," head coach Greg Herenda said. "Our kids played with great intensity and played very, very hard and I'm really happy with the start of our practice season."

The River Hawks are coming off a 21-8 season in 2008-09, with a 16-6 mark in Northeast-10 Conference action. They started the year as a No. 12 NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll pick and finished second in the conference with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

UMass Lowell's unexpected success came in part due to the arrival of NE-10 and NABC East Region Coach of the Year Herenda, a breakout season by NE-10 Freshman of the Year Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) and solid play by NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year Max Kerman (Watertown, MA).

Second-year head coach Herenda returns 10 student-athletes from last year's squad, including four starters in seniors Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN) and Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QC), junior Kerman and sophomore Caiola.

Also returning are four of the 2008-09 squad's top-scorers, including Caiola (14.1 ppg), senior Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) (11.6), Heatherly (9.1) and Kerman (8.3). The team also returns its leading shot-blocker in Kanaan (1.7 bpg).

Sophomores John Corbacio (Stoney Creek, ON), Marcus Johnson (South Bend, IN) and Robert Walton (Boston, MA), along with senior Terrel Randle (Concord, MA), promise to use experience to their advantage this season, while sophomore Kyle Mayers (Stoney Creek, ON) looks to contribute this season after redshirting last year.

Herenda also welcomes three newcomers in local talent, senior Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) and freshmen Romeo Diaz (Methuen, MA) and Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Boston, MA).

"Our veteran players were great leaders for our younger guys and the younger guys brought a lot of hustle and spirit tonight," Herenda said. "I couldn't be happier with the way we started the 2009-10 season."

The River Hawks' will first head to Storrs, CT on Nov. 8 for a 1:00 p.m. exhibition game against the perennial NCAA Division I National Championship contender University of Connecticut Huskies and then open their regular season at home, against Mercy on Nov. 15 at 3:00 p.m.