McLaughlin Powers Men's Basketball to Program's First Win at Bentley in 13 Years, 68-61
Links: Box Score | Troy McLaughlin Postgame Comments
WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) came off the bench to net a career-high 25 points – 17 of which came in the second half – as the Merrimack College men's basketball team upended the Bentley University Falcons, 68-81, on Wednesday evening in Northeast-10 Conference play from the Dana Center. The win marked the program's first on the road at Bentley in 13 years, dating back to the 2003-04 campaign.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 68, Bentley 61
Records: Merrimack (2-1, 1-0 NE-10) | Bentley (2-1, 0-1 NE-10)
Location: Dana Athletic Center | Waltham, Mass.
How It Happened
- A dunk for Tyler Gibson propelled the Falcons to a 13-9 lead after the first 5:10 of game action.
- From there Merrimack went on a 10-2 run to take a 19-15 advantage with 12:10 remaining in the first half, capped off on a layup in traffic from freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.). Graduate forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) hit a right-wing triple moments later to give the Warriors their largest lead of the half, 22-15
- A defensive stalemate ensued over the final 10 minutes of the half. Bentley tied things up at 24-24 with 6:30 to play, but from there the programs combined to score 12 points over the remainder of the first stanza
- Barry scored Merrimack's first two points from the line to make it 30-all entering intermission. Barry and Hayes combined for 19 of the Warriors' 30 first-half points
- A pair of substitutes combined for 12 points in three minutes to give Merrimack a nine-point lead, 48-39, early in the second stanza. McLaughlin scored nine of the 12 that included a pair of three-pointers. Freshman Devon Moore (Hanover, Pa.) came off the bench and converted an old-fashioned three-point play
- McLaughlin continued his hot shooting, scoring five unanswered points on a left-handed layup and a right-wing triple to push his game total to 22 points, setting a new career high. Bentley answered with a three of its own, calling a timeout with 9:58 remaining and the Warriors ahead by nine, 57-48
- Barry put in his own miss to quell a Bentley 5-0 spurt and increase Merrimack's lead to six, 62-56, with four minutes to play in the game. McLaughlin's free throws maintained the six-point lead, 64-58, with 1:57 to play
- Free throws iced it at the end, cementing the Warriors first win at the Dana Center over Bentley since the 2003-04 campaign, 68-61
Inside The Numbers
- After setting his career high in the season opener against Post University, it did not take McLaughin long to best that total. He finished the night 8-of-9 shooting, making all five of his attempts from beyond
- Barry and Hayes combined for 30 points on the night, providing the majority of Merrimack's offense in the first half. The former finished the night with 16 on 7-of-12 shooting, while contributing seven rebounds
- From the point-guard position, Hayes dished out six assists and corralled six caroms in addition to his 14-point output on the offensive end of the floor
- Merrimack's zone defense forced the Falcons to commit 22 turnovers, leading to 34 Warriors' points. The Navy and Gold won the points-off-turnover margin by 24 (34-10) Additionally, the zone caused the Falcons to make just seven triples on the night, shooting below 30 percent (7-25)
- Merrimack's last victory on the road in Waltham came 13 years ago during the 2003-04 campaign, during the first contest of the 2004 calendar year.
- Field Goals (%): MER 25-53 (47.2) // BEN 22-48 (45.8)
- Three-Point Field Goals (%): MER 7-18 (38.9) // BEN 7-25 (28.0)
Up Next
The Warriors play in their home opener on Sunday afternoon when Merrimack hosts the University of Bridgeport at 2 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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