January 6, 2009
MBB: UMASS LOWELL RALLIES FOR 76-65 VICTORY OVER LE
MOYNE
Lowell, Mass. - Freshman guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst,
N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored 23 points off the bench, but
UMass Lowell overcame an 11-point first half deficit to defeat the
Le Moyne College men's basketball team, 76-65, in Northeast-10
Conference action on Tuesday night at the Costello Athletic
Center.
Johnson, who tied his career high with the 23 points, finished in
double-figures for the fifth consecutive game and connected on a
career-best seven three-pointers in the contest. Junior forward
Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter
Panas) registered his seventh straight double-double with
13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while also dishing out four
assists and blocking four shots. Sophomore forward Kevin
Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis) also finished in
double-figures for the Dolphins with 11 points. Kevin Carr scored
21 points off the bench, including 17 in the opening half, to lead
three River Hawks in double-digits. Kyle Caiola posted 16 points
and Craig Heatherly contributed 10 points.
Ekperigin opened the second half with a layup, but the River Hawks
rattled off six straight points to take their first lead of the
game. Following a three-pointer by Johnson, then consecutive layups
on the other end of the court by Ali Kanaan gave UMass Lowell a
44-39 lead, the Dolphins registered nine straight points to take
their final lead of the contest.
UMass Lowell, which matched last season's regular season win total
with its 10th victory, took control of the contest in the middle of
the second half with a 24-5 scoring streak over eight and one-half
minutes to push out to a 68-53 lead with 3:25 remaining. Caiola
connected for nine points in the run, while Heatherly added seven.
Johnson scored 11 consecutive points, including hitting three
straight three-pointers, to pull the Dolphins within seven points
with 1:42 left in the contest. Heatherly (3) and Caiola (2) closed
out the scoring for the River Hawks to deliver the final scoring
margin.
The Dolphins opened the contest with the first nine points over
the beginning three minutes. Four different players scored in the
run, capped by a jumper by Roth. The River Hawks tallied six
straight points, before Le Moyne registered a 13-5 run to take a
22-11 lead with 9:37 remaining in the half. Ekperigin, the
conference's co-player of the week, scored seven points in the
streak for the Dolphins.
After Johnson drilled a three-pointer with 6:25 left to give his
team a 32-23 advantage, UMass Lowell scored the game's next nine
points to tie the score at 32 before going into the intermission
knotted at 34. Carr keyed the run for the River Hawks with a pair
of three-pointers.
Le Moyne (7-6, NE-10 4-5), which had its five-game win streak
snapped, returns to action in North Andover, Mass. on Thursday
night against Merrimack at 7:30 p.m.
-agate-
UMass Lowell 76,
Le Moyne 65
Le Moyne (7-6, NE-10
4-5)
34
31
-
65
UMass Lowell (10-3, NE-10
5-4)
34
42
- 76
