Men's Basketball Loses Shootout vs. Stonehill, 93-89, Wednesday Night
Links: Box Score
EASTON, Mass. – Senior guard Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) finished the game with 40 points, his second 40-point game of the season, but that was not enough for the Merrimack College men's basketball team as the Warriors were dealt their ninth conference loss of the season, 93-89, against Stonehill College on Wednesday night from Paula Sullivan Court.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 89 | Stonehill 93
Records: Merrimack (10-9, 5-9 NE-10) | Stonehill (15-6, 10-5 NE-10)
Location: Merkert Gymnasium (Paula Sullivan Court) | Easton, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook
1) Southern NH (13-5, 11-3)
2) Saint Anselm (13-5, 10-4)
3) Stonehill (15-6, 10-5)
4) Saint Michael's (14-6, 10-5)
5) Bentley (14-7, 9-6)
6) Franklin Pierce (12-9, 7-7)
7) Merrimack (10-9, 5-9)
8) Assumption (8-12, 5-10)
How It Happened
The Warriors and Skyhawks took part in their second meeting of the season. The first matchup, played in North Andover, saw Stonehill walk away with a 91-88 overtime victory as Adam Bramanti hit a corner three-pointer as time expired to snatch the victory away from Merrimack.
Over the first five minutes of the game, Stonehill held an early five-point lead, as a Daniel Brix layup provided the Skyhawks a 13-8 advantage. The next four minutes saw the teams exchange baskets until a Solano three-pointer gave the Navy and Gold its first lead at 23-22 with 10:58 to go in the contest. At the midway point of the opening stanza, Solano led all players with 11 points on four-of-seven shooting.
The Warriors would build a lead as large as eight points over the next four-minute stretch, with Solano's layup at the 6:14 mark giving the Warriors a 37-29 lead. With less than five minutes to go in the half, JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) hit a jumper to give the Warriors 39 points, as many as they had during the whole game against New Haven on Saturday.
After that shot, Stonehill went on a 10-0 run to make it 41-39 with less than 90 seconds left in the half. A Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) layup tied the game up at 41-41 and that would be the last scoring play of the half. Solano led all players with 17 first-half points.
Over the first 3:03 of the second stanza, Stonehill went on a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead. Carter Smith sank a three-pointer then on the very next possession, Ryan Logan converted a three-point play to give the Skyhawks some momentum. The run ended at the 15:50 mark when freshman Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) swished a three-pointer, making it 51-46 Stonehill.
With the score 56-48, Merrimack scored six straight points to make it a one-possession game. Strickland drove hard to the hoop for one field goal, then on the next possession Hammel threaded a bounce pass to Solano on the left wing for a three-pointer. At the 12:36 mark, Hammel converted on a fastbreak layup, which was preceded by a steal from Strickland, and was fouled. He missed the ensuring free throw, despite being the top free-throw shooter in the country, preventing the Warriors from taking a lead, leaving it tied at 56-all
The midway point of the second stanza came and went with Stonehill holding a 65-61 lead. In fact, neither team would score until the 7:32 mark, when Hammel curled off a screen on an out-of-bounds play and hit a mid-range jumper. With 6:03 left in the game, Howes made another three-pointer and Merrimack used a timeout trailing by just three points.
Out of the timeout Bramanti, the shooter who killed Merrimack in the first meeting, drilled a three to put the Skyhawks up by six points. Down it stretch it seemed that whenever Merrimack would pull within two or three points, Stonehill always had an answer. With the score 72-70, Pierce Cumpstone nailed a threewith 4:14 to go. Fifty seconds later with the score 75-72, Cumpstone made another shot to push the lead back to five points.
Over the final two minutes, the teams combined to score 31 points, but it wasn't until five seconds remaining that Merrimack made it a one-possession game. Solano scored 10 of his 40 points over the final 120 seconds, while Hammel hits two threes, one of which was converted into a four-point play. The final push was not enough for the Warriors as the Skyhawks hit 12-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line over the final two minutes.
Inside The Numbers
- After no player had scored at least 40 points in a Merrimack uniform in 13 years, Solano has now done it twice this season (he scored a career-high 44 points against Saint Rose earlier this year). His final shooting line was 15-of-28 from the field, eight-for-15 from three-point range, but only two-of-six from the charity stripe. The junior also added six rebounds, three assists and four steals
- Hammel was right there with the offensive prowess that Solano displayed, totaling 24 points, including five three-point field goals. Both Howes (9 pts, 9 reb) and Strickland (8 pts, 8 ast) nearly totaled double-doubles. For Stickland, those eight assists are tied for the second most he has had this season
- The Warriors were not good enough on the defensive end of the floor. Five Skyhawks finished in double figures, led by Cumpstone who finished with 20 points off the bench. As a team, Stonehill shot 50 percent and went to the free-throw line 30 times, making 26 attempts
- The Skyhawks outrebounded the Navy and Gold, 42-28, and had an 18-point advantage in bench scoring
Up Next
Merrimack returns to conference play on Saturday afternoon when the Warriors take on Southern New Hampshire at 3:30 p.m. Merrimack defeated the Penmen earlier this season, 95-84, at Hammel Court.
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