Hammel Notches 500th Career Victory as Men's Basketball Defeats Bloomfield, 92-74
Links: Box Score
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – Head Coach Bert Hammel of the Merrimack College men's basketball team collected his 500th career victory on Sunday afternoon as the Warriors defeated the Bloomfield Bears, 92-74, to end the calendar year on a high note. Hammel becomes the 14th active coach in Division II to reach the 500-win plateau, reaching another prestigious milestone in his 35th year at the helm of the Warriors.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 92 | Bloomfield 74
Records: Merrimack (5-6, 0-6 NE-10) | Bloomfield (3-7, 2-2 CACC)
Location: Bloomfield, N.J.
How It Happened
It took the Warriors until there was 67 seconds in the first half to control their first lead, but once Merrimack took the lead over their foes from the CACC, the team never relinquished its advantage.
It initially did not look like Hammel would get his 500th victory, faced a deficit that reached as many as 10 points over the first 18:53 of the first half. At the 15:08 mark of the first, Matt Hall hit a layup to give Bloomfield a 18-11 lead, as the Bears came out firing. Bloomfield made seven of its first 11 field-goal attempts.
The Bears lead was still at eight points approaching the midway point of the first half, but a Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) three-pointer made it 28-23 with 10:06 left in the first stanza. Four minutes later, a Jamal Smith three-pointer game the Bears another nine-point advantage, 38-29, tying their largest lead of the game to that points. Another three ball from Smith at the 5:48 mark pushed the Bloomfield advantage to 41-31.
With the clock reading 4:10 remaining in the first stanza, the Warriors started to play some of their best basketball of the game. The Navy and Gold defense forced the Bears to miss their final seven shots of the half, as Merrimack closed the first 20 minutes on a 13-0 run. Senior guard Travonne Berry-Rogers (Lynn, Mass.) scored a layup with 1:07 left in the half to give Merrimack its first lead of the game. Junior guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) posted nine consecutive points during that stretch for the Warriors.
The Warriors continued to stretch the lead in the second half, outscoring the Bears by 14 points. Junior James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) and freshman Kyle Howes combined to score Merrimack's first 10 points of the half, building the lead to 58-46 with 17:30 to play.
With less than 12 minutes to go, Bloomfield would go on a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit to single digits at 67-59. A Hammel three-pointer with 9:45 pushed the lead for Merrimack back to 12 points with 9:45 left. That shot began a stetch of eight straight points scored by Hammel.
Strickland gave the Warriors their largest lead of the game at 18 points, 85-67, with 4:57 remaining. Merrimack would win by that margin, 92-75, to close out 2014 with a win and improve to 5-0 in non-conference play. Ninety-two points marks the most scored for Merrimack this season and the first time that Merrimack had reached 90 points since last February against Bentley.
The Hammel Timeline
(1980-2015, 35 seasons, 500-473)
Win #1 - vs Merchant Maritime Academy (76-66) - 12/1/80
Win #100 - vs. Bryant (56-52) - 12/5/87
Win #200 - vs. Assumption (84-70) - 1/15/94
Win #300 - vs. Bryant (86-65) – 2/27/00 (NE-10 quarterfinals)
Win #400 – vs. Saint Anselm (69-63) – 1/22/08
Win #500 – vs. Bloomfield (92-75) – 12/21/14
Division II Winningest Active Coaches (As of 12/21)
1) Herb Magee, Philadelphia U. – 993 wins
2) Bob Chipman, Washburn – 764 wins
3) Richard Schmidt, Tampa – 646 wins
4) Tom Klusman, Rollins – 628 wins
5) Ben Beaury, St. Rose – 579 wins
6) Mike Sandifar, Oakland City – 575 wins
7) Lonn Reisman, Tartleton State – 569 wins
8) Stan Spirou, Southern NH – 566 wins
9) Keith Dickson, St. Anselm – 542 wins
10) Lonnie Porter, Regis (CO) – 536 wins
11) Mike Nienaber, Christian Brothers – 514 wins
Mark Corino, Caldwell – 514 wins
13) Gary Edwards, Francis Marion – 507 wins
14) Bert Hammel, Merrimack – 500 wins
Inside The Numbers
- Hammel totaled a career high with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a perfect five-for-five from three-point range
- Strickland posted a strong effort of 19 points, seven assists and zero turnovers
- Howes also scored a career high with 17 points. It is the fourth time this season that the rookie has scored in double figures. He shot seven-of-12 from the field
- The Warriors forced the Bears into 20 turnovers, scoring 27 points off of those miscues. The Warriors finished with a 58 percent shooting percentage, including 52 percent from three-point range
Up Next
Merrimack has nearly two weeks off before their next game, as the Warriors will resume Northeast-10 play on Saturday, January 3, at 3 p.m. when they will play Southern New Hampshire at Hammel Court.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
