Rudowitz Notches Career High 21 Points And Seven Rebounds As 25th-Ranked Men's Basketball's Late Charge Falls Short In 75-74 Northeast-10 Setback To UMass Lowell

November 29, 2006

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: UMASS LOWELL 75, STONEHILL 74

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Jerreh Saidybah (Montreal, Que.) scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds as UMass Lowell held off a late surge to post a 75-74 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over 25th-ranked Stonehill Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

The visiting River Hawks (3-3, 1-2 Northeast-10) held four 10 point second half advantages and led 71-62 with 2:19 remaining before the host Skyhawks (3-1, 1-1 Northeast-10) capped a 10-2 run with a lay-in by freshman Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) with 25 seconds to play to cut their deficit to one at 73-72. A free throw by junior Dashon Harper (Columbus, Ohio) extended UMass Lowell's lead back to two, and Stonehill had a chance to take the lead with 10 seconds to play, but a three-pointer by senior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.) rimmed out. Saidybah added a free throw to extend the River Hawk edge to three, and Stallworth's game-tying three-point attempt rimmed out, as a put back by freshman AJ Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) accounted for the final score.

UMass Lowell jumped out to a quick 13-6 first half lead and extended that margin to as many as 12 points before settling for a 39-31 advantage at the break, and the visitors led 53-43 with 12:12 to play in the contest on a Saidybah jumper before Stonehill went on a 12-2 run over a 5:11 stretch to forge a 55-55 tie on a lay-in by freshman Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) with 7:01 remaining. The River Hawks regained a four-point edge and ultimately built that lead back to its nine-point cushion, setting up the frantic two-minute finish.

Harper added 18 points in the win for UMass Lowell, which also received eight points each from junior Mike Watson (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, Ind.) as well as six points and six boards from freshman Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Que.). The River Hawks blistered the nets at a 60 percent clip for the contest, including a 67 percent effort in the first 20 minutes of play, and canned five three-pointers.

Rudowitz led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds in the setback for Stonehill, which also received 12 points from senior Lance Clarke (Cambridge, Mass.) and 11 points each from Stevanovic and sophomore Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.). Stallworth finished with nine points for the Skyhawks, who shot 44 percent from the field but just 20 percent (5-25) from behind the arc. The hosts held a 31-29 rebounding edge, including a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass, in the first meeting between the teams since last year's NCAA Northeast Regional championship game won by Stonehill.

Stonehill heads to Keene, N.H. on Saturday afternoon to take on Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 3:30 p.m., while UMass Lowell hosts Bryant in a Northeast-10 match-up on Saturday afternoon in Lowell, Mass. that tips-off at 4:00 p.m.