Men's Basketball Travels to Easton, Mass. to Face Stonehill College Wednesday Night

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THE WARRIORS SEEK OUT FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON AGAINST THE SKYHAWKS

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Coming off a thrilling, 75-71 victory over Southern New Hampshire State University last Wednesday night at Hammel Court, the Merrimack College men's basketball team returns to action to face the Skyhawks of Stonehill College Wednesday, Nov. 20th in a Northeast-10 Conference clash at Merkert Gymnasium.

The Basics
Game: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013 | 7:30 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (3-0, 1-0) | Stonehill (2-1, 0-0)
Location: Merkert Gymnasium| Easton, Mass.

Last Time Out

The Merrimack College men's basketball team earned a thrilling, 75-71, victory over the defending Northeast-10 Champions Southern New Hampshire University, on Wednesday night at Hammel Court.

A back-and-forth first half saw Southern New Hampshire's lead grow to as much as eight with 15 minutes to play, but over the remainder of the opening stanza, both sides would combine for 22 field goals, as the Penmen headed to the locker room with a one-point lead (33-32) in hand.

Down 65-56 with 6:03 to play, baskets by sophomore Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) and sophomore Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) cut the gap to five. Southern NH then hit a free throw to up its lead to six before Solano had back to back steals and conversions to cut the gap to two.

With 3:02 to play, sophomore Gelvis Solano (New York, N.Y.) nailed down a 3-pointer and Merrimack had its first lead since midway through the first half. An old fashioned 3-pointer gave SNHU a two-point lead before Solano nailed down another 3-pointer to give Merrimack a 70-69 lead with 2:35 to play. Merrimack never lost the lead after that and finished the game on an 8-2 run.

Last Season against the Skyhawks

Game 1:

  • Merrimack defeated Stonehill, 73-58, and notched its fourth straight win last season.
  • Solano rang in the New Year with a team-leading 17 points, while JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) and former senior Tyler Young (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in 12 apiece.
  • Stonehill posted a 39.2 percent clip from the field while going just 6-for-25 (24.0 percent) from long range.
  • The Warriors posted a 44.8 percent clip from the field and 43.8 percent from long range percent, and Merrimack registered a plus-70 percent free throw conversion rate (85.7 percent).

Game 2:

  • The Skyhawks defeated the Warriors, 58-56, in the final seconds of the game.
  • Merrimack held a slight edge in shooting, finishing 26-for-65 (40.0) overall while going just 3-for-12 (25.0) from downtown and 1-of-9 (11.1) from the free throw line.
  • Stonehill mustered a 21-of-60 (35.0) clip from the field but finished 5-of-22 (22.7) from the arc and an impressive 11-for-12 (91.7) from the line, a mark that more than factored into the final outcome.
  • Former senior Mike Clifford (Danvers, Mass.), finished two shy of his personal best in scoring (26) and tied his career-high in rebounding (14) while finishing 13-of-18 from the floor. Behind him, Solano added 12 points, while both added three blocks apiece to lead the Navy and Gold.

The Warriors:

  • Merrimack head coach Bert Hammel is just 11 wins shy of joining the coaching 500-win club. Hammel, now in his 34th year at Merrimack, has a career record of 489-450.
  • Solano currently leads the team and ranks second in the NE-10 averaging 27.7 points per game.
  • Hammel currently leads the team and the conference shooting 72.7 percent from downtown.
  • As a team, the Warriors are second in the conference with a 77.2 free throw percentage as well as shooting 43.2 percent from deep.

Scouting out the Stonehill College Skyhawks:

  • Coming off a 78-67 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.
  • The Skyhawks average 73.3 points per game, while shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from long range.
  • Josh Heyliger leads the team averaging 17.5 points per game.
  • Ryan Logan leads the team averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, while the team averages 41.0 rebounds per game.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack athletics, check back online at www.merrimackathletics.com, and follow the Warriors on Twitter @MC_Athletics.

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