Men's Hoops Stymied by Saint Rose
ALBANY, N.Y.- The Merrimack men's basketball team fell 79-57 to Saint Rose Wednesday evening at the Nolan Gym. The Warriors' record sinks to 9-6 overall and 5-6 in the Northeast-10 conference with the loss. The Golden Knights improved to 13-4 on the year and 8-4 in league action.
Wayne Mack (Paterson, N.J.) finished with 18 points to lead Merrimack. Aaron Strothers (Wareham, Mass.) posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards while rejecting three shots. Dee Mency (Hagerstown, Md.) added nine second-half points and Roland Davis (Deer Park, N.Y.) contributed seven.
After a slow start to the game, Merrimack netted the first bucket of the contest 2:30 into play. Saint Rose sprinted out to a 22-9 lead midway through the opening frame.
The Warriors clawed back by way of a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to four. The Golden Knights drained 10 of the final 18 points of the half to hold onto a 41-26 advantage at intermission.
Mack paced Merrimack through the first period with 12 points. Strothers finished the opening 20 minutes with six points and five boards.
The Warriors converted 33.3% of their field goal attempts and 30% of their attempts from downtown after one half of play.
Saint Rose started the second period with a 17-2 run in the opening 5:30 of the half.
The Golden Knights kept Merrimack at bay throughout the second half. The Warriors tallied the game's final six points while holding the home team scoreless in the final four minutes.
Merrimack shot 38.9% from the field and outrebounded Saint Rose by a 33-31 margin. The Golden Knights' win was keyed by 48.6% field goal shooting while converting 15-of-16 free throw attempts.
"We came out slow and were unable to pick up the intensity," said head coach Bert Hammel.
Merrimack will host Pace January 22 in game two of a doubleheader at Volpe Gym.
