Men's Basketball Uses Balanced Attack in Dominant Win over Assumption, 85-68
Links: Highlights | Box Score | Anthony Barry Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team led for 39 of a possible 40 minutes on Saturday afternoon as the Warriors took down the visiting Assumption College Greyhounds, 85-68, from Hammel Court to improve to 2-5 in Northeast-10 Conference play.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 85, Assumption 68
Records: Merrimack (7-6, 2-5 NE-10) | Assumption (5-7, 1-6 NE-10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Bert Hammel: "Very happy to finish the week with two wins and start the second half on a positive note. Our offense gave us some balance, with the reserves chipping in some timely shots as well. We have some of the most important games of our season ahead and today gives us momentum entering the majority of our conference season."
How It Happened
Assumption scored the afternoon's first bucket, but the Warriors answered with an 8-0 run and never looked back. Forwards Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) and James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) scored all eight of the run's points, and Kennedy added a dunk off a feed from Barry at the 15:20 mark to make it 12-8 in favor of the Warriors.
With the lead down to one at 15-14, Merrimack went on a 10-3 spurt. Sophomore Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) hit consecutive threes while Barry ended that run with another bucket as he scored a team-high 10 points in the opening stanza.
Merrimack's lead reached double digits for the first time at 33-22 following a pair of treys from senior Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) and a pair of free throws from JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.). Strickland then converted on an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:53 remaining to build Merrimack's largest lead of the half at 14 points, 40-26.
Kennedy scored the final five points of a 10-0 second-half run to increase the Warriors' advantage to 18 points, 55-37, with less than 17 minutes to play. Freshman Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) joined the fray with a triple of his own at the 13:46 mark and it was a 62-43 game following one of Boulter's two threes on the day.
Assumption hung around midway through the second half, cutting its deficit to as low as nine points following free throws from Kamali Bey. Senior Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) halted the momentum there as he swished a three-pointer from the left corner and was fouled, converting on the four-point play.
The Warriors advantage never reached single digits over the final nine minutes, as the Navy and Gold improved to 7-6 overall and sit at 2-5 in the Northeast Division entering cross-divisional action next week.
Inside The Numbers
- All five members of the Merrimack starting lineup finished in double figures, with Barry as the only Warrior to finish with double-digit field-goal attempts. The fourth-year forward scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added six rebounds
- Kennedy finished three rebounds shy of notching his third consecutive double-double (13 pts, 7 reb). The senior is averaging 11.3 ppg and 12.0 rpg over his last three games
- Solano scored a team-high 18 points, hitting all six of his free throws and nearly reached 20 points while only attempting eight free throws. Hammel and Strickland combined for 21 points as well
- Boulter and Howes made five of Merrimack's eight three-pointers on the afternoon, combining for 15 of the Warriors' 17 bench points
- The Navy and Gold shot 55.6 percent from the field, setting a new season high for field-goal percentage in NE-10 action falling percentage points shy of marking a new overall season best
Up Next
The Warriors travel down to West Haven, Conn. on Wednesday afternoon to take on the University of New Haven in their first game of cross-divisional action. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
