Oct. 27, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who finished second in the Northeast-10 during the 2008-09 season after being selected No. 12 in the preseason poll, has been selected No. 3 in the 2009-10 NE-10 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.

The River Hawks are coming off a 21-8 season, with a 16-6 mark in conference play. The 2008-09 squad battled to a No. 2 finish in the conference and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, before eventually losing a heartbreaker to Merrimack in the first round.

UMass Lowell received 191 points overall and one first place vote in the poll. Ahead of the River Hawks, No. 1 Merrimack (21-9, 16-6 NE-10) earned seven first place votes and 214 overall points to nab the first spot. Defending regular season champion, No. 2 Bentley (26-7, 18-4), placed second with seven first place votes and 212 overall points.

Rounding out the top five, were No. 4 LeMoyne (20-11, 13-9) and No. 5 Stonehill (21-8, 16-6), as the Skyhawks earned one first place vote, as well.

"The Northeast-10 Conference is so competitive that any team is capable of having a great year and this year will be no different," said NE-10 and NABC East Region Coach of the Year, head coach Greg Herenda.

The River Hawks return nine veterans from last year's squad, which finished second in the Northeast-10 Conference and was one shot away from reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Some of the leading returners include 2008-09 NE-10 Freshman of the Year Kyle Caiola (Parma, OH) and captain of the River Hawks, defending NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year Max Kerman (Watertown, MA). Caiola led last year's team with 14.1 points per game, while Kerman ranked second on the glass with 5.5 boards per game.

Seniors Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, IN), Ali Kanaan (Montreal, QC) and Kevin Carr (Lancaster, OH) will all look for significant playing time to continue their consistent contributions to the team.

Herenda and staff also welcome newcomers in freshmen Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Boston, MA) and Romeo Diaz (Methuen, MA), along with local star Kingsley Onyechi (Lowell, MA) for his final year of NCAA eligibility.

"Obviously, the other coaches think we will be better [this year]," Herenda said. "But it is up to every player on our team and our staff to work as hard as possible to reach our goals this season."

The experience and depth of this year's corps promise to make the River Hawks competitive every night they play.

"The only polls that matter will be in March," Herenda said. "I hope we are still included in those."

The River Hawks will head to the University of Connecticut for an exhibition game at Storrs' storied Gampel Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 p.m. They will officially kick off the 2009-10 season at home in Costello Gym, when they host Mercy on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3:00 p.m. for a non-conference tilt.