Hayes' Effort Headlines Road Victory as Men's Basketball Holds Off Stonehill in Easton, 77-75

11/22/2016 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score | Anthony Barry/Juvaris Hayes Interview

EASTON, Mass. – Freshman point guard Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) made all four of his free throws in the final minute, finishing with a season high 22 points, as the Merrimack College men's basketball improved to 2-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play with a 77-75 victory at Stonehill on Tuesday night from Merkert Gymnasium. The contest featured 16 lead changes and 10 ties, eight of which came in the second half before a layup from senior Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) put Merrimack ahead for good with 56.3 seconds remaining.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 77, Stonehill 75
Records: Merrimack (4-1, 2-0 NE-10) | Stonehill (3-2, 1-2 NE-10))
Location: Merkert Gymnasium | Easton, Mass.

How It Happened

• Merrimack jumped out to a 13-2 lead over the first 3:13 of the game behind a trio of 3-pointers, two from sophomore Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) and one to start the night from Barry
• The Skyhawks slowly worked back into the game, taking their first lead at the 8:04 mark following a layup by Jim Walsh to make it a 24-23 contest. Redshirt-junior Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Garden City, N.Y.) answered immediately on the other end, scoring his first points since the end of his freshman season in February of 2014
• Three 3-pointers from Daniel Largey over the final five minutes of the opening stanza powered Stonehill to a 40-36 halftime lead. Barry totaled 15 points on 7-of-11 from the field to keep the Navy and Gold within striking distance
• Barry's first field goal of the second half came at the 15:35 mark, a layup on the fast break, to put the Warriors in front by a one-point margin. One minute later, freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) drove and kicked out to Boulter in the right corner for a trey to make it a 51-49 game
• Stonehill used a 5-0 run that ended at the 11:12 mark to jump back ahead, 57-53, behind a three from Isaiah Bess and a driving runner from KJ Lee. The Warriors answered with free throws from Boulter and a lay-in on the break from Hayes to tie the game, 57-all
• Hayes energized the offense by orchestrating a 6-0 run, that included consecutive layups and and two rebounds from the reigning NE-10 Rookie of the Week to make it 65-64 Warriors with 5:10 remaining in the game
• Already the seventh tie of the half, sophomore guard Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) went to the free-throw line and made both with 2:25 on the clock to tie the game at 69-69. The two rivals traded buckets on a tip-in from Barry and a two-pointer from Ryan Logan for the half's eighth tie, 71-71, with 70 seconds to play
• With one minute to play and out of a timeout, Hayes found a cutting Barry underneath for a layup, putting the Warriors ahead by two, 73-71. On the next Skyhawks possession, a pass to the corner from Lee to Walsh went out of bounds, giving Merrimack the ball back. Boulter missed a jumper, but Barry and Hayes hit the floor to force a jump ball to keep possession
• Hayes went 4-of-4 from the line in the final minute, but two layups from Lee keep the Skyhawks within one possession, but with one second left on the clock, the Warriors successfully inbouned the ball to Boulter to seal the victory

Inside The Numbers

• Merrimack last began conference play with two straight victories three seasons ago, which also included a win in Easton. The 4-1 overall record also equals the start that the 2013-14 squad put together, which is the best in the last four years
• Hayes and Barry combined for 45 of Merrimack's 77 points, with the former adding six assists, five rebounds and five steals. Hayes set season highs in points and steals, while he's totaled at least six assists in the last four games, averaging 7.0 per game
• Barry was Merrimack's best player in the first half, racking up 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. His final line included 11 makes on 19 attempts, notching a team high in scoring while adding eight boards and three steals
• Defensively, the Warriors forced the Skyhawks into 23 turnovers, and scored 28 points off of those miscues
• The Warriors won despite making a season-low five triples. Stonehill proved why they were among the NE-10's best from behind the arc, connecting on 12-of-25 from distance
• Anderson Jr. played in 13 minutes as a reserve, putting in four points for his first scoring game since February of 2014. The redshirt-junior missed all of the last two seasons due to injury

Up Next
The Navy and Gold return home on Sunday afternoon when the Warriors host Concordia (N.Y.) in non-conference action from Hammel Court at 3 p.m.

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