Mack, Strothers Combine for 55 as Men's Hoops Soars Past Saint Anselm, 81-68
MANCHESTER, NH- The Merrimack men's basketball team topped Saint Anselm 81-68 in the 100th installment of the rivalry Wednesday evening at the Stoutenburgh Gym. The Warriors improve to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Hawks sink to
Wayne Mack (Paterson, NJ) posted his second-straight double-double with 28 points and 12 boards. Aaron Strothers (Wareham, MA) provided 27 points and two blocks for Merrimack. Tyler Young (Brooklyn, NY) poured in 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Roland Davis (Deer Park, NY) scored eight points and registered a pair of steals. Wilfredo Pagan (Lawrence, MA) dished out six assists while pulling down six rebounds on the night.
Merrimack drained four of its first five field goal attempts to spring to an 8-3 edge early in the contest.
The Warriors showcased their ball movement skills as two quick passes inside the paint freed up Strothers for an easy put-away to give the visitors a 12-5 lead.
After a triple by the Hawks, Mack weaved his way through traffic to score a layup to make it a two-possession game, 14-8.
Mack sank a jumper from just inside the key to double up the game as Merrimack led 16-8.
The Warriors were firing on all cylinders in the first half as they erupted out to a 13-point margin.
Pagan dished the ball under the hoop to Strothers for the simple lay-in. Mack drained a three from the left wing 8:17 into the first half to keep the visitors' momentum rising.
With 10:38 to go in the opening period, Mack and Adam Marshall (Kent, England) sank back-to-back treys to left Merrimack's gap to 17.
An emphatic block on the defensive end by Strothers kept Saint Anselm at bay midway through the first frame.
Down the stretch, the Hawks went on a 15-4 run to cut the Warriors' advantage to eight points with 1:35 remaining until halftime.
Merrimack headed into the locker room holding a 33-25 lead. Mack paced the visiting team at the break with 12 points while Strothers poured in 10.
A runner in the lane by Mack 2:20 into the second stanza pushed the Warriors' advantage to 12, 42-30.
A well-executed play on an inbounding increased Merrimack's lead to 13. Davis inserted the ball to Strothers who quickly returned the pass to an unmarked Davis under the basket.
Saint Anselm worked their way back into the contest with a barrage of three-point buckets. The hosts shrank the Warriors' lead to six with 11:20 left to go, 55-49.
In the final minute, Strothers salvaged an attempted alley-oop from Davis and turned it into an assist. Strothers elevated to catch the ball and dished it before hitting the ground to Young for the lay-in.
Mack knocked down a trey to close out the scoring for the Warriors.
Merrimack finished the game with a 51.6 field goal percentage after shooting 58.1% from the floor in the second half.
The Warriors outrebounded the Hawks 37-29 on the night.
"We played well defensively and we were able to pull out a good win on the road tonight," said head coach Bert Hammel. "We handled the pressure and reacted well to their run without giving up the lead in the second half."
Merrimack remains on the road as it will take on UMass Lowell December 3 at the Tsongas Center for the second year in a row.
