River Hawks build winning margin by halftime with 51.9% first half shooting

Boxscore 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 19, 2008) - The University of Massachusetts Lowell built a 20-point halftime lead on 51.9-percent shooting and made it stand over the final 20 minutes in posting a 64-44 victory over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse tonight.

Junior Victor Colon (Chicago, Ill./Niles West) scored all 16 of his team-high point total in the first half as he hit 6-of-11 shots for the night, including 4-for-5 from three-point range. Junior Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field (4-5 three's) to go with four assists, while sophomore Max Kerman (Watertown, Mass./Shawsheen Tech) posted 11 points and five steals.

Junior guard Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) led three Franklin Pierce players in double-figures with 13 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) added 11 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School) chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and two steals.

UMass Lowell built a 20-point halftime lead (40-20) as it hit 51.9-percent (14-for-27) of its shots in the first half, including 10-of-16 (62.5%) from three point range, while Franklin Pierce made just 33.3% (7-for-21) of its shots from the field, including 3-of-10 (30%) from beyond the arc. The River Hawks finished shooting 46.2% (24-52) from the floor overall, including 12-for-22 (54.5%) from beyond the arc. The Ravens finished at 31.6% (12-38) from the field, including 3-of-15 (20%) from downtown.

After back-and-forth play to start the game, Franklin Pierce held a 15-13 lead with 10:07 to play in the first half after a Dozier three-pointer. UMass Lowell responded with a 25-3 run over the next seven minutes to take a 38-18 lead with 3:27 to go in the half. Colon keyed the run with nine points on a trio of three-pointers, while Heatherly and junior Ali Kanaan (Montreal, Quebec/Georges-Vanier) each chipped in six points.

UMass Lowell would push the lead as high as 25 points (51-26) on a Heatherly three-pointer with 12:12 remaining. Franklin Pierce tried to get back in the game as a 10-2 run, highlighted by a fast-break dunk by Dozier, closed the gap to 53-36 with 6:40 remaining. But the Ravens would get no closer as the River Hawks scored the next six points to regain their 20-point cushion.

Franklin Pierce (2-1, 0-1 NE-10) is off for the next nine days before returning to action on Friday, November 28, against Lynn University at the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic in Saint Petersburg, Fla., at 5:30 p.m. Franklin Pierce returns home on December 3 to host Le Moyne College at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WEEI 93.5 FM Keene. UMass Lowell (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) hosts Merrimack College on Saturday at 4 p.m.