Duncan's 32 Drives Men's Basketball Past Franklin Pierce
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Behind a game-high 32 points from
senior captain Darren Duncan
(Briarwood, NY), the Merrimack men's basketball team
improved to 3-3 on the year with a win over Franklin Pierce
University Wednesday evening, 87-71.
For Duncan, it was his first 30-point game of the year and first
since he scored exactly 30 at American International College (Dec.
6) a season ago. He also jumped from 10th to 7th on the all-time
scoring list Wednesday night passing Justin Leith '04, Steve
McMahon '72 and Phil McDonald '73 for 1,588 career
points.
Sophomore Aaron Strothers
(Wareham, MA) improved his scoring output for a third
straight game with a season-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds
and three blocks. Strothers has now recorded at least one block in
all six games this season.
Sporting a 41-40 halftime lead, the Warriors received valuable
minutes off the bench from senior Jared Brownlee
(Portland, ME) and Craig Woehnker
(Colts Neck, NJ) who combined for seven points and four
blocks in the first 20 minutes. Woehnker ended the game with eight
points and Brownlee amassed a season-high five blocks.
The Ravens' Kinard Dozier scored 17 of his team-high 23
points in the first half, while the league's sixth-leading
scorer and second-leading rebounder, Terrell Ray, added 17 points
and 15 boards.
With only a one-point lead at the half, Merrimack fell behind by
as much as eight going into the second half, but a 20-7 run capped
off by a Woehnker three-pointer and a Duncan three-point play gave
the Warriors a 16-point cushion at the five minute mark.
Despite being doubled-up in offensive rebounds (24-12),
Merrimack used 10 steals, including five from Duncan, to scored 16
points on the night. For the first time this season,
Merrimack's bench out-scored the opposition with 10 from
Woehnker and Brownlee to Franklin Pierce's five.
“We had some guys play strong for us at times, but our
team rebounding is still the key to us winning games,” Head
Coach Bert Hammel said following the game. “I was pleased
with how a few guys came off the bench, but we still need to make a
concerted effort boxing out as a team.”
The Warriors embark on a three-game road trip until returning
home on December 22 against Bridgeport University at 4:00pm. The
Warriors play at Conference rival Saint Michael's on Saturday
at 3:30pm before visiting Southern New Hampshire University on
December 8 at 7:30pm.
