Men's Basketball Completes Improbable Run to Postseason with 84-78 Victory vs. St. Michael's
Links: Box Score
COLCHESTER, Vt. – Behind a career-high 33 points from point guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.), the Merrimack College men's basketball team defeated Saint Michael's, 84-78, from the Ross Sports Center on Tuesday night. Just minutes after the Warriors game went final, Franklin Pierce defeated Bentley on a last-second three-pointer, sending the Navy and Gold on to the Northeast-10 Championship as the fifth seed in the Northeast Division.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 84 | Saint Michael's 78
Records: Merrimack (15-11, 10-11 NE-10) | Saint Michael's (16-10, 12-9 NE-10)
Location: Ross Sports Center | Colchester, Vt.
Northeast-10 Postseason Outlook
The improbable postseason run is complete for the Warriors. After beginning the season 0-6 in conference play, Merrimack won 10 of its final 15 games in league play in order to climb out of last place and into fifth place. With that being said, it took a last-second victory from Franklin Pierce, the Ravens hit a three-pointer with one second left to beat Bentley after not leading the entire second half, to send Merrimack to the playoffs. The Navy and Gold will travel to New Haven for a first-round matchup on Friday night.
*NE-10 Championship seeding
Northeast Division
1) Southern NH (20-6, 17-4)
2) Saint Anselm (17-8, 14-7)
3) Stonehill (19-8, 14-7)
4) Saint Michael's (16-10, 12-9)
5) Merrimack (15-11, 10-11)
Southwest Division
1) Southern CT (22-5, 16-4)
2) AIC (20-6, 15-5)
3) Le Moyne (16-12, 10-10)
4) New Haven (15-11, 10-10)
5) Saint Rose (9-18, 7-13)
What They Said
Head coach Bert Hammel: "I couldn't be happier for the team, and I am particuarly excited for Travonne to extend his final season. The guys played hard and came through in a pressure situation. It was not easy to beat two good teams back-to-back in order to get in the playoffs. Now that we're in, it's time to focus on Friday and see if we can keep the season going."
How It Happened
Merrimack's start could not have been much better, as the Warriors scampered out to an 11-0 advantage. After Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) scored the first basket of the game, Strickland knocked down three consecutive three-pointers to account for Merrimack's first four shots. The Purple Knights quickly worked their way back into the game with a 9-0 run and the Warriors only led by two points, 11-9, six minutes into the game.
With the game tied at 13, Merrimack scored eight of the next 11 points to take a 21-16 lead with 8:09 left in the opening stanza. Strickland hit another trey to cap off the run for the Warriors. Strickland's hot shooting would continue, as he hit his sixth three-pointer of the first half with 5:14 to play, increasing Merrimack's lead to eight points. That shot broke his previous career high in three-pointers made, which he set last season with five, also in the season finale against Saint Michael's.
It would not end there for the third-year point guard. His seventh trey of the half gave Merrimack its largest lead of the opening stanza at 33-23 with less than four minutes to play. That shot also tied Strickland's career high of 21 points, marking the third time this year he has scored at least 20 points in a game.
Leading scorer Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y) did not score until there was 10 seconds left in the half, but his layup gave Merrimack a 14-point advantage. Corey Crawford II hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it a 38-27 game at halftime. The Warriors made 14 field goals in the opening half, 10 of which were of the three-point variety.
It didn't take long for Strickland to set a new career high in scoring. Just 1:12 into the second stanza, Strickland hit a layup to give him 23 points for the game and give the Warriors a 42-39 lead. The Purple Knight began to work their way back into the game with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to nine points at 45-36 with 15:36 to play.
Hammel hit a 16-footer to make it 50-36, but Mike Holton Jr. scored six unanswered points for the Purple Knights to make it an eight-point game, 50-42, with 12 minutes to play in the game. At the midway point of the half, Strickland was fouled taking a three-pointer and hit the three ensuing attempts from the charity strike. Hammel joined Strickland with 20 points on the next possession for the Warriors and Merrimack led by 12 points, 57-45, with 9:12 to play.
With six minutes to play, Strickland hit two free throws to score his 29th and 30th points of the game, notching his first career 30-point game. On Merrimack's next possession, Solano hit a three-pointer to push the lead to 15 points at 66-51. Dom Ditlefsen answered with a three of his own for the Purple Knights, but Solano hit a trey on his next attempt the lead remained at 15 with 4:33 left in the game.
The Purple Knights would not go away, scoring six straight points to make it a nine-point contest, 69-60, with 3:49 left. Holten Jr. returned to the fray with a three-pointer to make it 74-66 with 1:53 remaining. The deficit would dip to as low as five points for the Purple Knights, but Merrimack was able to do enough on the defensive end and on the free-throw line to keep Saint Michael's at bay.
Inside The Numbers
- As the calendar turned to 2015, the Warriors sat in last place in the Northeast Division at 0-6. Less than eight weeks and 10 conference wins later, the Warriors are advancing to the postseason for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign
- With the win Merrimack still needed help from Franklin Pierce, and for most of their matchup with Bentley, it did not appear that they would come through for the Warriors. The Ravens led for one second in the second stanza, but it was the most important second of the game. Tyler Iacuone hit the game-winning three-pointer, which went through the net with one second remaining on the clock, to give the Ravens the 85-84 win and send the Warriors on to the postseason.
- Strickland could not have picked a better night to have the best game of his career. The junior shattered his previous career high of 21 points with his 33-point performance tonight. The third-year player notched his first career 30-point game and set a new personal best with seven three-pointers, all of which came in the first half.
- The performances of Hammel and forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) should not go unnoticed. Hammel finished one point shy of his career high with 28 points, including 20 in the second half. Kennedy may have only gone 3-of-12 from the field, but totaled a career-high 13 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive glass
- The three performances above played a significant role in Merrimack winning despite a quiet game from Solano. He finished with 12 points, only attempting eight shots from the field. He also committed seven turnovers
Up Next
The Navy and Gold will travel to New Haven on Friday night for a 7 p.m. first-round matchup against the Chargers. It will be Merrimack's first appearance in the NE-10 Championship since the 2011-12 campaign.
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