BOX
SCORE
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Kyle Caiola totaled 15 points
to lead UMass Lowell to a 67-64 win over Southern New Hampshire
University in Northeast-10 men's basketball Tuesday night at the
SNHU Fieldhouse. The River Hawks improved to 15-8 and 12-6 in
the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 13-10 overall and 8-10 in the
league.
Caiola led four River Hawks who
finished in double figures. Kevin Carr was 4-9 behind the arc
and finished with 12 points, while Romeo Diaz scored 11
points. Kingsley Onyechi was 5-6 from the floor and added 10
points.
Marcus Matthews
(Valley Stream, N.Y.) led the Penmen with 12 points, going 9-10 at
the free throw line. Josh Morgan-Green
(Upper Marlboro, Md.) finished with 11 points, while
Stephen Wood (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y.) added 10
points. Josh Last (Hooksett, N.H.) and
Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) each registered nine
points.
In a see-saw second half that saw
four ties, three lead changes, and neither side leading by more
than five, UMass Lowell used a 7-0 spurt to take a 55-52 lead with
6:34 remaining on a layup by Onyechi. The Penmen cut the lead
to one three times, the last on a Last three with 3:20 to play, but
the River Hawks would take a 64-59 lead with 1:24 left on a layup
by Caiola.
Southern New Hampshire cut the lead
to two, 64-62, on a three by Vejraska with 26.9 seconds left, and
Vejraska would then come up with a steal in the backcourt.
After a timeout, Stapleton got the ball down low on the inbounds,
but was whistled for traveling. Down 67-64 with 6.3 seconds
to go, Diaz missed the second of a two-shot foul. Matthews
would get one final look for a three, but it was off the mark.
SNHU found itself in an 8-0 hole
2:50 into the game and trailed 18-8 with 12:48 left before
halftime. The Penmen would then go on an 8-0 run capped by a
Matthews three at the 10:03 mark to make it 18-16. SNHU took
its first lead at the 4:53 mark on a pair of Vejraska free throws
that made it 24-22, and closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a
35-34 halftime lead following a pair of Matthews free throws with
seven seconds remaining before intermission.
UMass Lowell shot 52.4% in the
second half and 48.1% for the game while limiting the Penmen to
35.6% shooting for the contest. The Penmen were 15-19 at the
free throw line while UML was 10-16, but the River Hawks
outrebounded Southern New Hampshire 39-34.
Southern New Hampshire returns to
action Saturday when it hosts No. 13 Bentley University in a 3:30
contest.
