Men's Basketball Falls in Overtime at Pace, 83-82
Links: Box Score
PLESANTVILLE, N.Y. – Senior guard Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer as time expired in overtime as the Pace University Setters came back from a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat the Merrimack College men's basketball team, 83-82, on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference play.
The Basics
Score: Pace 83, Merrimack 82
Records: Merrimack (8-7, 3-6 NE-10) | Pace (7-9, 4-4 NE-10)
Location: Goldstein Fitness Center | Pleasantville, N.Y.
How It Happened
The game started slowly on the offensive end for both squads. Coming off his game-winning shot on Wednesday, Solano hit his first bucket at the 16:18 mark to give the Warriors an early 6-2 advantage. Ryan Peterson hit a triple for the Setters four minutes later to give the hosts their first lead at 11-10.
From there, neither team scored over the next 4:38 of game action before senior Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) sank his first three-point attempt of the day to give the Warriors the lead back. Senior guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) had the best offensive half for the Warriors, as his back-to-back layups forced the Setters to call a timeout facing a 19-15 deficit with 4:15 left in the opening stanza.
Freshman Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) hit his second three of the half as time expired to give Merrimack its largest lead of the game, 27-20, entering halftime. Boulter led all scorers with 10 points while Strickland finished the half 4-of-5 shooting after making his first four shots.
Four minutes into the second stanza, the Warriors built an 11-point lead, 36-25, behind a pair of layups from forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) and capped off by the first field goal of the afternoon for senior James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.). Pace worked their way back into the game by using a 9-0 run to cut the Warriors lead to four, 41-37, with just over 11 minutes remaining.
With eight minutes remaining, Peterson and Hammel exchanged corner treys and the contest was tied at 49-all. From there, the Setters when on a 13-6 spurt to build a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to go.
The Warriors would not go away. Down by five with 2:46 remaining, Hammel hit a jumper followed by a bucket from Kennedy to make it 66-65 with less than 90 seconds to play. On Merrimack's next possession, Solano was fouled and made both free throws to give Merrimack a 67-66 lead, its first advantage since the 8:53 mark. Shelton Mickell was fouled on the other end, but only made 1-of-2 to tie the game. Solano missed an 18-footer, a chance at his second straight buzzer-beater, and the game went to overtime.
Over the first 90 seconds of the extra session, Barry and Strickland combined for all seven of Merrimack's points during that stretch. Boulter hit his fourth triple of the day and the Warriors led 77-74 with under three minutes to play.
The game was decided at the free-throw line in the final minute. Trailing by two, Solano attacked the basket and converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Warriors up by one, 82-81, with 21 seconds to play. Mickell returned the favor as he hit both of his free throws with 7.5 seconds to play to put Pace back in front. Solano missed a left-wing trey as time expired, missing on his second attempt at a game-winning shot in as many days.
Inside The Numbers
- Pace erased a 13-point deficit with 13 minutes to play to send the contest to the extra session, scoring 47 second-half points after only 20 in the opening stanza
- Hammel led the five Warriors in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting, making a pair of three-pointers. Boulter came off the bench to contribute 16, his third double-figure output over the last four games
- Despite fouling out in overtime, Strickland finished the day with a double-double on 16 points and 10 assists, which tied his season high which he record in the season opener against Caldwell
- The Setters may have not shot well from beyond the arc (5-22), but Pace made 61.5 percent of its two-point attempts (24-39) contributing to the come-from-behind effort
- The Navy and Gold played in their first overtime affair since the 2014-15 home opener, a 91-88 loss to Stonehill. It marked the first time the program played an overtime game on the road since November of 2011, also against the Skyhawks
Up Next
Merrimack returns home on Tuesday afternoon as the Warriors host Education Day on campus as part of their hoops doubleheader against Southern Connecticut. Tipoff between the Warriors and Owls is set for 3:30 p.m.
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