Men's Basketball Ousted in NE10 First Round by Lowell
LOWELL, Mass.- The Merrimack men's basketball team suffered a 75-66 loss to UMass Lowell in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs Saturday afternoon at Costello Gym. The 11th-seeded Warriors fall to 13-14 on the year with the loss. The River Hawks, the No. 6 team in the tournament, improve to 19-8 overall and move on to face the third-seed Stonehill.
Roland Davis (Deer Park, N.Y.) poured in 19 points to lead Merrimack while adding seven helpers. Co-captains Dee Mency (Hagerstown, Md.) and Wayne Mack (Paterson, N.J.) each finished with 13 points on the day. With 13 points in the game, Mency passed former teammate Darren Duncan for third on the all-time points list at Merrimack with 2,039. Aaron Strothers (Wareham, Mass.) posted his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.
Tyler Young (Brooklyn, N.Y.) got the Warriors on the board with their first field goal of the game 2:37 into the game. Davis knotted the game at 4-4 on Merrimack's next possession with an off-balance layup.
The River Hawks posted a 7-0 run to go ahead 11-4 after 5:30 of play.
Mency cut the Warriors' deficit to two points by knocking down a trey from the left wing with 12:30 remaining in the first frame, 13-11.
Merrimack drew to within a point of Lowell on a double-clutch lay-in by Mency with nine minutes on the clock in the opening period, 23-22.
Mack leveled the score at 24-24 with 7:35 left to play in the first half on a jumper. The River Hawks reclaimed the lead, 29-24, with buckets on back-to-back trips down the court.
Once again, Mack tied the game for the Warriors. The junior buried a three-pointer from the top of the key.
Strothers granted Merrimack its first lead of the day with a tip in off of a missed jumper by Young with 2:50 until halftime.
The Warriors extended their advantage to six by way of a pair of baskets by Young in the final minute of play in the first frame, 35-31. The visitors capped off the opening half on a 11-0 spell to own a 37-31 edge at the intermission.
Davis paced the Warriors through the opening 20 minutes of action with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field while adding five assists. Mack had nine points to his credit at halftime and Mency registered seven.
Merrimack drained 48.5% of its field goal attempts in the first half while Lowell shot 40%. The Warriors held a 21-15 rebounding margin at the break.
Davis found Mack under the hoop for an uncontested layup to open the second stanza.
The River Hawks battled back to pull to within two points, 41-39, three minutes into the half. Davis sank a triple from the left wing to restore Merrimack's lead to five on the ensuing possession.
The Warriors' lead was sliced to one by a runner from Northeast-10 All-Rookie selection Akeem Williams 4:52 into the second frame. The River Hawks took the lead on a layup by Williams on the next trip down the floor.
The two teams traded the lead five times within a span of 1:30. Baskets by Mency and Davis were responsible for giving Merrimack the lead.
Lowell strung together 11 unanswered points to grab a 59-49 advantage with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. The Warriors faced their largest deficit of the afternoon, a 10-point hole.
Davis ended a basketless drought by the Warriors that lasted nearly five minutes. The junior guard banked in a lay-in with 8:51 on the clock.
A lay-in by Mack with 3:32 left to play closed the gap to 13 points as the River Hawks clasped to a 72-59 lead.
Mency went to the free throw line with 2:07 remaining in the game. The senior co-captain converted the front-end to tie former teammate Darren Duncan on the all-time points list at Merrimack with 2,038. Mency scored the second free throw to move into sole possession of third place on the all-time list.
The Warriors finished the contest with a field goal percentage of 44.8%. Lowell converted 45.5% of its attempts from the floor on the afternoon.
Merrimack controlled the rebounding edge 38-32 in the game.
"I thought our team played extremely well in the first half. We played with a lot of heart today and I am proud of the way that we played all season long," said head coach Bert Hammel.
The River Hawks were led by three players with 21 points on the day.
