Southern NH Runs Away from Men's Basketball, 97-65, in NE-10 Quarterfinals
Links: Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – After winning five of its final seven games of the regular season and its first postseason game in five years, the Merrimack College men's basketball team saw its season come to a close in the Northeast-10 Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors lost to top-seeded Southern New Hampshire out of the Northeast Division, 97-65 , at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 65 | Southern NH 97
Records: Merrimack (16-12) | Southern NH (21-6)
Location: SNHU Fieldhouse | Manchester, N.H.
2015 NE-10 Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Friday, February 27 - First Round
Game 1: #4 NE Saint Michael's def. #5 SW Saint Rose – 68-65.
Game 2: #5 NE Merrimack def. #4 SW New Haven – 79-63.
Sunday, March 1 – Quarterfinals
Game 3: #4 NE Saint Michael's def. #1 SW So. Connecticut – 81-79
Game 4: #1 NE Southern New Hampshire def. #5 NE Merrimack – 97-65
Game 5: #2 SW American International def. #3 NE Stonehill – 68-63
Game 6: #4 NE Saint Michael's def. #3 SW Le Moyne – 84-73
Wednesday, March 4 - Semifinals
Game 7: #4 NE Saint Michael's vs. #2 NE Saint Anselm – 7:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. #1 NE Southern New Hampshire – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 - Final
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 8* - 1:00 p.m.
How It Happened
The contest matched the Warriors and Penmen against each other for the third time this season, with Merrimack winning both regular-season contests. The Penmen entered the game as the Northeast Division champions and top seed out of the division. The Navy and Gold upset the fourth seed out of the Southwest Division, New Haven, on Friday night to advance to the quarterfinals.
Over the first three minutes of the game, the Warriors took a 7-3 advantage as Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) scored five straight points for the Warriors, including a transition three-pointer just 2:01 into the game. At the 14:45 mark, sophomore Devin Gilligan hit a trey and the Penmen had their second lead of the half at 11-9.
After Elijah Bonsignore converted on a three-point play for the Penmen, junior guard Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit a three-pointer and was fouled. Hammel missed the ensuring free throw, but the Warriors and Penmen were tied, 14-14, with less than 13 minutes to go in the half. Southern NH head coach Stan Spirou was hit with a technical foul with 11 minutes left, with Hammel hitting the ensuring free throws, and at the midpoint of the half Merrimack led by three points, 19-16.
With Merrimack leading by one at 24-23, Rodney Sanders hit back-to-back threes to give the Penmen their largest lead of the game to that point at 29-24. Sanders and Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) both were named to the all-conference first team earlier in the week. Solano responded with a triple of his own and the Penmen lead was at two with five minutes to go in the opening stanza.
Over the final four minutes of the half, the Penmen took control of the game. Holding a 36-32 advantage with 2:38 left in the half, SNHU went on a 10-3 run to close out the opening frame. The Penmen led 46-35 at halftime. The hosts shot 54 percent in the opening half (15-of-28), while the Warriors ended the half just 5-of-22 from the field, after making five of their first 10 shots. Solano led all scorers with 16 points, but was only 4-for-13 from the field.
The second half started poorly for the Warriors. Within 30 seconds, the Penmen lead was at 15 as Bonsignore hit layup, then Aleksandar Dobrovic picked off an errant pass and score uncontested. The Penmen run reach eight unanswered points and Merrimack called a timeout trailing, 54-35, with 18:26 to play.
It didn't get much better from there for Merrimack. The Warriors cut the deficit to 15 points at 56-41, but the Penmen responded with an 14-2 run to push the lead to 27 points 70-43 with 14:15 left. After four unanswered points from Merrimack, the Penmen called a timeout with 11:15 to play and holding a 74-49 lead. Out of the timeout, the Warriors scored another four straight, and called a timeout trailing by 21 points with less than 10 minutes to go.
With 4:23 to go, the Penmen built their largest lead of the game at 31 points, 88-57. Senior Travonne Berry-Rogers (Lynn, Mass.) scored his first two points of the game with less than four minutes to play. The clock would run out on the Warriors postseason run with the Penmen winning, 97-65, sending Southern NH on to the semifinals
Inside The Numbers
- The first-half shooting woes made it difficult for Merrimack to compete with the division champs. The Warriors ended the half shooting 5-of-22, allowing the Penmen to build an 11-point advantage at the intermission. Three Penmen scored in double figures over the first 20 minutes, led by Gilligan with 13
- Solano wraps up his junior season totaling at least 20 point for the 17th time this season. He finished the contest with 26 points on 9-of-22 shootting, and wraps up the year leading the conference with an average of over 23 points per game
- Junior forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) ended his first campaign with Merrimack totaling eight points and eight boards. Hammel and JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) posted 18 combined points
- Berry-Rogers concludes his Merrimack career with six points and three rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. He set career highs this season in nearly every statistical category, while playing in the most minutes of his career
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