Men's Basketball Pulls Away from Holy Family, 89-74
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team turned a one-point halftime lead into a 15-point rout as the Warriors defeated Holy Family, 89-74, on Sunday afternoon for an important regional victory. The Navy and Gold improved to 3-2 on the year while the Tigers suffered their second loss of the season.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 89, Holy Family 74
Records: Merrimack (3-2, 0-1 NE-10) | Holy Family (3-2, 1-0 CACC)
Location: SNHU Fieldhouse | Manchester, N.H.
How It Happened
The Tigers played well to start the game, holding a lead for the first 12 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) made a layup at the 15:28 mark to cap off a run of five unanswered points to tie the game at 11-all. Marvin Crawford answered with a triple for Holy Family as the Tigers maintain their lead through the nine-minute mark.
Senior Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) hit his first of consecutive three-points to give the Warriors their first lead, 24-22, at the 8:37 mark. Freshman forward Jordan Thornton (Dumfries, Va.) hit a jumper with less than five minutes to go in the half to make it a 29-26 game.
Merrimack's first-half advantage got as high as five points after a layup from Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) with 2:37 to play. A late layup from Reggie Charles made it 36-35 Merrimack at halftime.
Outside of a brief tie in the beginning of the second half, the Navy and Gold did not relinquish their lead during the second stanza. With the score at 70-64 with 7:33 left in the game, the Warriors went an 8-0 run to extend their advantage to 18 points, their highest lead to that point. Junior Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.) started the spurt with a jumper while senior Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) sunk four consecutive field goals.
A three-pointer from JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) pushed Merrimack over the 80-point plateau with 5:12 to play. The Navy and Gold held on from there, collecting the 89-74 victory to salvage a split of their two games this weekend at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
Inside The Numbers
- Hammel finished with a season-high 22 points, hitting 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. He also finished with seven rebounds, one shy of tying his career high
- Solano totaled 24 points to lead all players, extending his double-figure scoring streak to 15 games. Strickland and Barry joined Hammel and Solano with at least 10 points with 16 and 15 each, respectively
- Senior forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) tied his season high with 12 rebounds. Four players finished with at least seven rebounds as the Navy and Gold finished with a 37-27 advantage on the defensive glass
- The Navy and Gold connected on nine three-pointers, led by six from Solano, while shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc
- Milestone Watch: Strickland needs just seven points to become the 41st Warrior in program history to reach 1,000 for his career.
Up Next
Merrimack returns home and returns to league play on Tuesday night when the Warriors play Stonehill from Hammel Court at 7:30 p.m.
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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
