Men's Basketball Stymied by Bentley
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The Merrimack men's basketball team dropped a 68-44 decision to Bentley Thursday evening at Volpe Gym. The Warriors sink to 10-9 on the year and 6-9 in Northeast-10 action. The Falcons elevate their overall record to 16-4 and 14-2 in conference play.
Tyler Young (Brooklyn, N.Y.) registered his sixth double-double of the year, leading the team with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Dee Mency (Hagerstown, Md.) also finished with 10 points to his credit. Wayne Mack (Paterson, N.J.) contributed 7 points, six boards and five assists on the night. Aaron Strothers (Wareham, Mass.) pitched in eight points for the Warriors.
Merrimack jumped out to a 6-3 lead after 2:30 had elapsed in the first frame.
A Mency triple knotted the score at 9-9 with 14:35 remaining in the opening half. The Falcons forged ahead 19-13 by way of a 10-4 run.
Bentley owned a 39-23 advantage at intermission.
The Warriors shot 30% from the field in the first half while the Falcons drained 47% of their field goal attempts including 50% from behind the arc.
Mency paced Merrimack through the first 20 minutes of action with seven points. Young finished the opening stanza with six points and five rebounds.
Bentley opened the second half on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 48-23 with 16 minutes left to play.
A lay-up by Strothers marked the first field goal of the second period for Merrimack with after 4:15 had gone by.
The Falcons maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half to earn their 16th win of the year to stay atop the conference tables.
The Warriors shot 32% from the floor in the game while the Falcons owned a 44% field goal percentage on the night.
Bentley outrebounded Merrimack in the contest, pulling down 44 boards while the Warriors grabbed 38.
The Warriors resume Northeast-10 play February 5 with a road contest at Saint Anselm.
