Offensive Onslaught Powers Men's Basketball to 105-81 Victory at AIC Tuesday
Links: Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team reached triple digits for the second time this season, a feat the program hasn't accomplished in over five years, in the Warriors' 105-81 victory over American International on Tuesday evening.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 105, AIC 81
Records: Merrimack (11-9, 6-8 NE-10) | AIC (7-12, 3-10 NE-10)
Location: Butova Gymnasium | Springfield, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Bert Hammel: "I thought we got contributions from everyone that took the floor tonight. Offensively we got good looks, for the most part, and I thought the run late in the first half was key to keep them at bay."
How It Happened
Senior forward James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) began the game with a turnaround jumper, and shooting guard Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit three straight buckets, forcing the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout 2:14 into the game down by eight. Cameron Dobbs kept the Yellow Jackets in it with a trio of three-pointers over the first five minutes, making it 16-13 Merrimack 4:28 into the game.
Kennedy found freshman Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) on the left block for an easy bucket, starting a 14-2 run for the Navy and Gold that featured seven points from Boulter and a three-point play from JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.). At the midway point of the first half, the Warriors held a 36-19 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets chipped away at the advantage, coming within 11 points at 48-37 with 2:15 remaining, but the Warriors ended the half with a 7-0 run to take a 55-37 lead into the locker room. Hammel scored Merrimack's final five points, while Kennedy already had a double-double after 20 minutes with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) hit two treys over the first four minutes of the second half as the Warriors advantage grew to 25 points. Solano then drilled a step-back jumper just inside the three-point arc, giving the Warriors a 76-50 advantage with 12:11 to play.
Sophomore Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) hit two triples in the second half, while Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.), Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) and Tyler Hunt (Oswego, N.Y.) all scored in the second stanza. On one of Howes' triples, Strickland picked up his 10th assist of the game, the third time this season he has reached double digits in helpers.
Boulter's layup with 3:30 remaining in regulation put the Warriors over the century mark with 101 points. For Merrimack, it is the first time since the 2010-11 campaign that the Navy and Gold have finished in triple digits more than once in a season. The Warriors totaled 107 points in a victory over Concordia (N.Y.) earlier this season.
The victory sent Merrimack back into divisional play with a 6-8 record in NE-10 play. American International fell to 3-10 in the league with the loss
Inside The Numbers
- Hammel was vital for the Warriors in the first half, scoring 15 of his 17 points over the first 20 minutes while shooting 6-of-7 from the field. Solano flipped the script, playing his best in the second half, scoring eight points on 4-of-8 from the field in the second stanza's first 10 minutes
- Kennedy concluded January with his fourth double-double this month, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards. He totaled 10 and 10 in the first half, collecting six of his 10 first-half points from the free-throw line
- Near misses: Strickland finished one point shy of a double-double. His 11 assists marked a new season high, falling one helper shy of tying his career high. Freshman Jordan Thornton (Dumfries, Va.) finished with eight points and nine boards, narrowly missing out on his first career double-double
- The Warriors controlled the game by dominating on the glass. Merrimack ended the game with an 41-32 rebounding advantag, including 27-14 in the first half
- Merrimack finished the game shooting 54 percent from the field, and at one point in the first half the Warriors percentage was over 70. Defensively, the Navy and Gold limited the Yellow Jackets to 40.7 percent shooting
Up Next
The Navy and Gold return in eight days to begin their stretch run through the Northeast Division against Saint Michael's at 7:30 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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