No. 9-ranked River Hawks rally from 16-point first half deficit with three-point barrage

LOWELL, Mass. (March 3, 2003) - Top-seeded University of Massachusetts Lowell, ranked No. 9 in the most recent NABC/Division II Bulletin Top 25 poll, rebounded from a slow start to post a 74-65 victory over ninth-seeded Franklin Pierce in quarterfinal round action of the 2003 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tournament at Costello Gymnasium tonight.

UMass Lowell (23-4) advances to the semifinal round where it will host fifth-seeded Assumption College (20-9) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Franklin Pierce rounds out its 2002-2003 season with a 14-15 overall mark, the program 's first sub-.500 season since 1988-89 (its first in NCAA Division II) when it was 8-20.

Junior Elad Inbar rebounded from a slow start to finish with 16 points, aided by an eight-of-eight effort at the free-throw line, seven rebounds and four assists. Classmate Dana Jones added 14 points (12 second half), as did freshman Brandon Arnette, which marks a season-high for him. Classmate Stacey Moragne chipped in 12 points (10 first half), on 5-6 shooting from the field, and six rebounds.

Junior swingman Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led Franklin Pierce with 23 points on 6-11 shooting from the field and a 9-9 effort at the line. He became the 25th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in his career when he hit a scoop shot in the lane with 2:16 left in regulation.

Classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampen Academy) was the only other player in double-figures as he totaled 15 points. Senior Allister Gall (Plymouth, England) chipped in nine points, while classmate Sharod Campbell (Dorchester, Mass./Boston English) grabbed a game-high ten rebounds.

Franklin Pierce came out roaring in the first half, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead three minutes in. The Ravens held UMass Lowell without a field goal over the first five and a half minutes of regulation in building an 11-2 advantage.

After the River Hawks trimmed the lead to four points (21 -17) with a 9-2 run, Franklin Pierce reeled off a 12-0 run to break open a 33-17 advantage with 3:22 to go in the half. Freshman Tom Sadler (Oxford, England) drained a three-pointer and Campbell converted a conventional three-point play to spark the run.

UML responded with a 10-3 run to close the half and trim the Ravens lead to nine points (36-27) heading into the locker room as Arnette, senior Shahar Nachmias and junior Uri Grunwald all drained three's.

"We felt like we should have been up by more," said Franklin Pierce head coach David Chadbourne. "We kind of let them back in it and (the late run) gave them momentum heading into the second half"

UMass Lowell held Franklin Pierce to just one field goal, a Rodgerson three-pointer, over the first four minutes of the second half, but still trailed by five (41-36) 5:24 in. After Sadler and Rodgerson hit layups, the River Hawks posted an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game (47-45) after an Inbar three-ball.

The Ravens bounced back and regained a five-point cushion thanks to seven-straight points from Hunt over a 90-second span.

UML responded with a 14-2 run to take the lead for good and work it to a seven-point advantage (65-58) with 2:34 left in regulation. The River Hawks made the two runs by way of the three as six of their nine field goals over the final 12:25 came from beyond the arc. UML also canned 14-14 free-throw attempts over the final 20-minutes, including 6-6 in the final minute to ice the win.

"It's a credit to them, they are a very, very good basketball team," said Chadbourne. "They got into a nice offensive rhythm down the stretch, Arnette made some big shots for them and Moragne kept them in the game in the first half. If they make their three's you're going to be in trouble and we knew we couldn't take everything away."

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