Saint Anselm Downs Men's Basketball, 105-81
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm Hawks finished the game shooting 57 percent and from the field and hit 12 three-pointers as the Merrimack College men's basketball team lost 105-81 to their Northeast-Division foes from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 81 | Saint Anselm 105
Records: Merrimack (13-11, 8-11 NE-10) | Saint Anselm (16-7, 13-6 NE-10)
Location: Stoutenburgh Gymnasium | Manchester, N.H.
Northeast-10 Postseason Outlook
Northeast Division
1) Southern NH (18-6, 15-4)
2) Saint Anselm (16-7, 13-6)
3) Stonehill (17-8, 12-7)
4) Saint Michael's (16-8, 12-7)
5) Bentley (15-10, 10-9)
6) Franklin Pierce (14-12, 9-10)
7) Merrimack (13-11, 8-11)
8) Assumption (8-16, 5-14)
How It Happened
It was another matchup between two of the top offenses in the conference, and both teams proved it over the first five minutes. A Chris Santo layup made it 17-11 in favor of the Hawks just five minutes into the game, as the teams combined to shoot 12-of-20 from the field over the opening five minutes. That shot from Santo started a 18-0 run that ended with a Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) layup with 11:23 left in the opening stanza.
The eight-minute mark came and went with Mark Schulze hitting a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 40-19 advantage. At that point of the half, Saint Anselm was shooting 64 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range. With 5:22 left Solano entered double digits on a tip-in with 11 points and the Warriors trailed, 45-27.
After that shot, the Hawks embarked on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the half at 53-27. Senior guard Travonne Berry-Rogers (Lynn, Mass.) hit a transition layup to snap the run with three minutes left in the half. It would not get much better for the Warriors from there, as Saint Anselm took a 59-34 lead into halftime.
It was more of the same at the start of the second half. Roy Mabrey hit a three-pointer with 17:26 left to make it a 68-41 game. Mabrey scored seven of the Hawks' first nine points to begin the second stanza. Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) countered with a jump shot to decrease the deficit to 25 points with 17 minutes to play. Victor Joshua converted a three-point play, then Mabrey drilled a three and the lead was its largest to that point, 76-43. Berry-Rogers and Hammel would score back-to-back baskets to make it 76-48 with less than 15 minutes to play.
At the midway point of the second stanza, Berry-Rogers hit twice from the line to make it a 26-point game, 84-58. That began a stretch of seven straight points for Berry-Rogers, giving him 14 on the night, and Merrimack only trailed 85-63 with 8:22 to play.
Freshman guard Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) joined Berry-Rogers and Solano with at least 14 points in the game on a layup at the five-minute mark. Saint Anselm would hit 100 points on the third three-pointer of the half from Taylor Fortin with 4:10 left in the game. The Hawks would go on to win, 105-81.
Inside The Numbers
- Berry-Rogers finished with a career-high of 18 points. He shot 7-for-12 from the field and added two three-pointers. Junior guard Chris Mendes (Somerset, Mass.) scored four points, marking a new career best for the third-year player
- Solano ended his night with 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting, with only one three-pointer. It is the 23rd time this season that Solano has finished in double figures
- The Hawks owned the first half, shooting 62.2 percent from the field and connecting on nearly 50 percent (8-for-17) of their attempts from beyond the arc. Three-time conference player of the week Chris Santo led the way with 14 points and seven boards
- The last time Merrimack allowed 100 points in a game was last season on the road against LIU Post. The last occurrence in conference play came in November of 2013 against Franklin Pierce.
- Finishing with just nine points, Hammel now has scored in single digits in three consecutive games. Prior to this streak, Merrimack's second leading scorer had scored in double figures over 14 straight games
Up Next
Merrimack will conclude home on Saturday as the Warriors will play in Senior Day from Hammel Court against Franklin Pierce at 3 p.m. Berry Rogers, the sole senior on the Warriors, will be honored in a special pregame ceremony. 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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