Men's Basketball Falls, 88-78, vs. Philly U. Saturday
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Despite a 39-point effort from senior guard Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.), the Merrimack College men's basketball team lost by a 88-78 score to Philadelphia University on Saturday afternoon in a weekend tournament hosted by Southern New Hampshire.
The Basics
Score: Philadelphia 88, Merrimack 78
Records: Merrimack (2-2, 0-1 NE-10) | Philadelphia (3-1, 0-1 CACC)
Location: SNHU Fieldhouse | Manchester, N.H.
How It Happened
After Solano opened the game with a trey, the Rams went on a 9-0 run to build a 9-3 advantage with 14:37 to play in the half. Solano started the game with Merrimack's first eight points followed by a layup from Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) to make it 11-10 Philadelphia with 11:27 remaining in the opening half.
Over the next five minutes, the Rams scored 16 of the game's 21 point to surge forward at 29-15 following a layup from Brendan Kilpatrick. Solano and point guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) scored 13 of the Warriors' final 14 points of the half, but the Rams' advantage remained at double digits throughout. Merrimack entered the second half facing a 46-33 deficit.
The Navy and Gold forced Philadelphia to take a timeout less than two minutes into the second stanza, as Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit back-to-back buckets. The lead hovered around nine for Rams until TJ Huggins scored two of his 17 points at the 13:04 mark to stretch the Philly advantage to 58-44 with 13:04 left in the game.
Over the next four minutes of the game, Solano scored all seven of Merrimack's points, six of which came from the charity stripe, to keep the Warriors within striking distance. At the 5:28 mark, senior forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) swiped a steal, sending Strickland on the break to convert on a layup and cut the Rams lead to six points at 69-63.
Philadelphia turned the Warriors away from there, building its lead back to 12 points thanks to a 10-4 run culminating in a Peter Alexis layup. Solano's final bucket came with 39 seconds remaining, but the Rams got revenge after last year's loss to Merrimack, 88-78.
Inside The Numbers
- Solano's 39-point efforts marks a new season high as he has finished in double figures in all four contests this year and 14 consecutive overall. It is the most points he's scored since he finished with 40 a year ago at Stonehill. His career high of 44 also came in the 2014-15 campaign against Saint Rose
- Solano got to 39 points on just 16 field-goal attempts as he hit 12 field goals on the afternoon. He also posted his best percentage at the free-throw line so far, hitting 11-of-14 from the charity stripe
- Four Rams finished in double figures compared to just two for Merrimack. Strickland joined Solano with 15 points on 7-of-13 from the field
- Philadelphia controlled the boards, outrebounding the Navy and Gold by a 39-22 margin and 14-7 on the offensive glass. Eric Long was the lone Rams starter who did not score in double figures, but finished with a game-high 11 caroms
- Milestone Watch: Strickland now has scored in double figures in every game this season and needs just 23 points to become the 41st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. If he does not accomplish the feat tomorrow afternoon, the Warriors face Stonehill at home on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
Up Next
Merrimack returns to the SNHU Fieldhouse tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. when the Warriors take on Holy Family University.
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