Men's Basketball Holds Halftime Lead over NEC Favorite FDU; Knights Pull Away for 77-62 Win
Links: Box Score
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team gave Fairleigh Dickinson, the preseason favorites in the Northeast Conference and defending league champions, all they could handle in an exhibition on Thursday evening at Stratis Arena. The Warriors held a 39-35 halftime lead against their Dvision I opponents behind 10 first-half points from sophomore Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.), but the Knights pulled away in the second half for a 77-62 victory.
The Basics
Score: Fairleigh Dickinson 77, Merrimack 62
Records: Merrimack (0-0, 0-0 NE-10) | Fairleigh Dickinson (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
Location: Stratis Arena | Hackensack, N.J.
How It Happened
- Merrimack jumped out to a 9-5 advantage spurned by a 5-0 run courtesy of a coast-to-coast layup from freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) and a baseline trey from Boulter
- Three straight points from sophomore Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) brought the advantage to six, 17-11, at the midway point of the opening stanza. Ahead of the under-8 timeout, senior Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.) and Hayes hit consecutive shots to make it 21-17 Warriors
- Merrimack's lead grew briefly to nine, 26-17, following a triple from senior Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.), but the Knights answered on the other end with a three-pointer of their own.
- After the Knights pulled within two, 33-31, Boulter drained another trey followed by a fastbreak layup from freshman Jaleel Lord (Jersey City, N.J.) to spark a 5-0 run. Free throws from sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) marked Merrimack's final point of the half as the Warriors took at 39-35 lead into intermission
- Fairleigh Dickinson started the second half on a 15-6 run to take a 50-45 advantage with 14:38 remaining in the game
- The Knights' lead grew to as many as 11 over the next 10 minutes. With the shot clock winding down, Howes missed a triple but followed his miss and hit a left-handed laup to cut the deficit to seven, 65-58, with 4:44 remaining
- Fifth-year forward Tyrone O'Garro converted an alley-oop and hit the ensuing free throw to put the hosts ahead by 12, 72-59, marking their largest lead of the night as the Knights put the game away in the waning minutes
Inside The Numbers
- Barry ended the night with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. In the second half he hit a left-wing triple after only attempting one shot from beyond the arc last season
- Boulter finished two points shy of his season high as a freshman, finishing the night with 16 points. He hit 7-of-12 from the field including a pair of three-pointers
- Despite being Merrimack's shortest player on the floor, Hayes totaled a team-high 12 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive glass. He finished the night with eight points, two short of a double-double
- Mike Holloway led the hosts with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Four Knights finished in double figures
- Thursday marked Merrimack's first exhibition meeting with a Division I opponent since the fall of 2009 that saw the Warriors take on Providence College. The Navy and Gold went on to win 21 games that season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament
Up Next
Merrimack plays in its first regular-season game one week from Friday when the Navy and Gold travel to Waltham, Mass. to meet Post University in the Bentley Tip-Off Classic.
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