Second-Half Surge Spoils Men's Basketball's Upset Bid; #20 Saint Anslem Defeats Merrimack, 96-90
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team led as late as the 5:10 mark in the second half, but the No. 20 Saint Anselm Hawks powered ahead over the final five minutes to defeat the Warriors, 96-90, on Saturday afternoon from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Northeast-10 Conference play.
The Basics
Score: #20 Saint Anselm 96, Merrimack 90
Records: Merrimack (5-4, 1-3 NE-10) | #20 Saint Anselm (7-1, 4-1 NE-10)
Location: Stoutenburgh Gymnasium | Manchester, N.H.
How It Happened
The Warriors started the game well, scoring the game's first six points through the first 3:08 of action. Senior forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) scored the first bucket while JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) hit a trey to begin a strong shooting half for the senior point guard.
With the Warriors leading by two points, 12-10, Merrimack scored six unanswered points courtesy of field goals from Strickland, Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) and Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.), Merrimack's trio of starting guards. The Hawks responded with a 7-0 spurt to make it 18-17 Merrimack at the midway point of the opening stanza.
Victor Joshua hit a three-pointer to give Saint Anselm its first lead, 22-21, with less than nine minutes to play in the half. Merrimack quickly answered with nine straight points, five of which came from the right-handed shot of Solano.
The Hawks took a brief one-point lead late in the half, but the Warriors regained control and took a 44-39 advantage into intermission. Solano led the way with 17 points, while Strickland finished a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Merrimack's lead hovered between four and eight points over the first five minutes of the second half before a trey from Hammel pushed it to a nine-point game at 58-49. The Hawks answered with an 11-2 run to tie the game, 60-60, with 11:10 remaining in regulation.
Over the next four minutes, the local rivals tossed the lead back-and-forth before Strickland hit another three-pointer to extend Merrimack's led to four points, 73-69, with 6:14 to play. Strickland made back-to-back buckets a few minutes later as the Warriors maintained their 78-77 advantage approaching the five-minute mark.
Following that field goal, the Hawks took control of the game by going on an 8-1 run. Down the stretch the Warriors cut the deficit to a one-possession game on two occasions, but could not regain the lead or tie the game. The Hawks iced the contest at the charity stripe, coming away with the 96-90 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Four starters finished in double figures, led by Solano with 27 points. The senior has now scored in double figures in every game this season and 19 consecutive games dating back to the end of his junior year. Saturday marked his sixth 20-point game of the year
- Strickland poured in a season-high 25 points, finishing 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Merrimack's points guard entered the game with four triples over the first eight games of the year before doubling his total against the Hawks
- All five player in the Hawks starting lineup finished in double figures, led by Joshua with 24 points. Chris Braley totaled a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds
- Milestone Watch: Hammel totaled 19 points, bring his four-year total to 999 points. Following his first bucket against Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday, Hammel will become the 42nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau
Up Next
The Navy and Gold take another trip to Manchester on Wednesday night, when Merrimack will meet SNHU at 7:30 p.m. The Warriors defeated the Penmen in two of their three contests last season.
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