Men's Basketball Defeated by Assumption, 71-62, Saturday Afternoon
Links: Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team was never able to jump ahead of Assumption College, as the Greyhounds led the entire way to defeat the Warriors, 71-62, on Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 62 | Assumption 71
Records: Merrimack (2-5, 0-5 NE-10) | Assumption (3-4, 2-3 NE-10)
Location: Laska Gymnasium | Worcester, Mass.
How It Happened
Both teams entered the game with recent struggles. The Warriors were hoping to erase a four-game losing streak, and capture their first conference win of the season. The Greyhounds had lost three in a row, all of which were Northeast-10 games.
The Warriors struggled to hang on to the basketball in the first half, committing 11 turnovers. The Warriors also did not hit a three-pointer in the first half, the first time all year that the Warriors have not hit a three over the first 20 minutes.
After a Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) layup gave brought Merrimack within three points at 11-8, Assumption scored eight straight points to build an 11-point lead with 11:36 remaining in the first stanza.
Over the next eight minutes, the Greyhounds' lead ranged between nine and 13 points. Merrimack got within eight points after two JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) free throws with 3:12 to go in the half, but Assumption was able to build the lead to 13 points entering halftime.
The second half was more of the same, as the Warriors were never able to mount a comeback to get within striking distance until very late in the game.
A Jimmy Zenevitch tip-in with 15:23 left in the game gave the Greyhounds their largest lead at that points, 46-31. Over the next 1:22 of game time, Merrimack scored five in a row to make it a 10-point contest, but Assumption answered with five of the next six points.
Merrimack would hit a dry spell starting at the 9:16 that would see the Warriors go nearly six minutes without scoring the basketball. That drought allowed the Greyhounds to put the game away by building a 22-point lead with 3:49 to go. The scoreless streak ended for the Warriors on a Marcus Swedberg (Moultonborough, N.H.) put back to make the score 63-43.
Missed free throw's allowed Merrimack to cut it to a single-digit ball game with less than one minute to go, but the game never got closer than three possessions. Howes connected on his second three-pointer of the game to make it 66-59 with 50 seconds left, but Assumption hit five-of-six free throws over the final 50 seconds to prevent the Warriors from getting any closer.
Inside The Numbers
- Junior guard Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) finished with a game-high 22 points on seven-for-10 shooting from the field, the sixth time this year that he has eclipsed 20 points in a game. He added six steals, tying his career high.
- Howes continues to play well in his rookie campaign, finishing second on the team with 15 points over 36 minutes while adding six rebounds
- Swedberg and guard Chris Mendes (Somerset, Mass.) made their first appearances of the season in the second half. Swedberg tied a career high with four points
- The Warriors struggled from long range, connecting on a season-low three three-pointers while shooting just 17.6 percent from beyond the arc, the lowest of the 2014-15 campaign
- Assumption utilized hockey-like substitutions throughout the game, playing two groupings of five players every five minutes or so throughout the contest
Up Next
The Warriors return to North Andover tomorrow against Dowling College at 4 p.m. Single-game tickets will be available for purchase online at this link, or by calling the Merrimack Athletics Box Office at 978-837-5324. Adult tickets cost $5, while youth/senior tickets cost $3. All tickets are general admission seating.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
