Men's Basketball Suffers Buzzer-Beating Defeat to Stonehill, 91-88, in Overtime
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team lost at the buzzer to Stonehill College, 91-88, in overtime as the Warriors came back from a second-half deficit for the third straight game, only to see the Skyhawks win the contest in overtime.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 88 | Stonehill 91
Records: Merrimack (2-1, 0-1 NE-10) | Stonehill (3-0, 3-0 NE-10)
Location: Bert Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
It was a wild first home game of the season for the Warriors, as Merrimack returned to North Andover after two road games last weekend. The contest against the Skyhawks marked the beginning of conference play for both teams.
Once again the Warriors trailed entering the second half, as they did in the first two games of the season. Merrimack was able to comeback as they had done the first two games this year, but unlike the contests at the Bentley Tip-Off Classic, the Warriors were unable to hold the lead once they claimed it from the Skyhawks.
Trailing by eight points, 59-51, with 15 minutes remaining in the game, the Navy and Gold stormed ahead for a 8-0 run to tie the game at 59-59. Stonehill hit two free throws to take a brief 61-59 lead, but Merrimack scored the next six points to forge ahead, 65-61.
Merrimack held the lead until there was 7:15 remaining on the scoreboard, as Stonehill tied the contest at 71-71. The teams would exchange baskets over the next six minutes until there was less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Tied at 76, junior guards Gelvis Solano (New York, N.Y.) and Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit back-to-back layups to give the Navy and Gold a four-point lead with 68 seconds remaining in the game. Unfortunately for the Warriors, those were the last points they would score in regulation. A Stonehill layup with 47 seconds left brought it to a one-possesion game before Carter smith knocked down an 18-footer from the top of the key with eight seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Merrimack led up until the final buzzer sounded. Never leading by more than one possession, the Warriors lost an 88-86 advantage with less than a minute to go on a Ryan Logan two-pointer. Merrimack's next possession ended in a missed three-pointer by senior Travonne Berry-Rogers (Lynn, Mass.), giving the Skyhawks one more opportunity. Adam Bramanti was the hero for the Skyhawks, knocked down a three-point from the right wing as time expired to win the game for Stonehill.
The first half saw Merrimack fall behind again, as the Warriors struggled defensively against a sharp-shooting Stonehill team. The Skyhawks led by as many as 14 points over the first 20 minutes, as they connected on nine of the 16 attempts they took from long range. Solano scored 13 first-half points to keep Merrimack in the game, but the Warriors only made four-of-16 from three-point range, limiting their ability to produce offensively.
Inside The Numbers
- Solano led all scorers with 36 points, two shy of his career high. He added five steals and four boards over a game-high 43 minutes of action
- After scoring in double figures in his first two games, junior Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) fouled out in overtime after only scoring nine points in 38 minutes.
- Playing without some of its size in the frontcourt, Merrimack was outrebounded, 44-35, including a 10-board discrepancy on the defensive glass
- Point guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) tallied 12 points and eight assists, missing a double-double by two helpers
Up Next
Merrimack travels to Franklin Pierce in search of its first conference victory of the season on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
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