Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff
Some notes and news related to the UMass Lowell men's basketball team that didn't fit into the latest game story.
- ONLY HALF THE BATTLE: The funny thing about the UML full-court pressure that has quickly become a trademark of head coach Greg Herenda’s tenure is that you don’t sometimes see the results of the pressure until the opponent gets into the half-court set. St. Michael’s committed 23 turnovers, but a large portion of those occurred due to miscues after they broke the press or as a result of UML players pressuring the ball and getting in passing lanes simultaneously. Herenda pointed out after Saturday's game that part of the objective of their pressure is to wear down opponents.
The River Hawks recorded 15 steals as seven different players got in on the act.UML averages a conference-high 11.08 steals per game. The second-best team, Southern New Hampshire, averages 9.4 steals per game. Individually, four River Hawks players rank among the top 12 in the NE-10 for steals. Kevin Carr leads the league along with Merrimack’s Darren Duncan (2.2 steals per game) ,while Kyle Caiola is third, Max Kerman seventh and Craig Heatherly tied for 11th.
- FIRST GAME BACK: Junior center Ali Kanaan played in his first game since Nov. 25, at Stonehill. A broken bone in his left hand forced him to miss six games. Last Monday while the men’s team was in New York for the Pace Holiday Classic, he received clearance to get back on the court.
Kanaan scored six points and passed out five assists in 21 minutes against St. Michael‘s. He also logged two blocks and one steal coming off the UML bench. While he made just one field goal (1 of 3), he got to the foul line for four attempts and made good on all four.
- COSTELLO’S COMFORT?: The River Hawks had their second-biggest win of the season (36 points, they beat Mercy by 37 in opener) to improve to 9-3. One of the things the River Hawks hope to improve on this month is their record at home. Two of their three losses this season have come at Costello Athletic Center, and Saturday’s game started a stretch of nine games that features six home tilts for UML. Turning up the pressure on defense figures to go a long way. One sort of counterintuitive statistic to this point in the season is turnovers. The River Hawks actually do a better job of forcing teams into miscues away from Costello. UML has forced an average of 17.7 turnovers per game at home compared to forcing 19.6 turnovers overall.
- ALL-INCLUSIVE: In his quest to get as many people involved with the UML program as possible, Herenda continued his habit of inviting former players to talk with the current squad. Leo Parent and John Paganetti visit the post-game locker room following Saturday’s dismantling of St. Michael’s. The River Hawks also had some special guests taking the court at half-time as campers from the UML summer basketball camps were invited to participate in a knockout shootout during halftime.
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