Five Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Downs #19/#RV SNHU Sunday, 94-78
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights | Anthony Barry Interview | Joe Gallo Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – All five starters scored in double figures as the Merrimack College men's basketball team knocked off No. 19 Southern New Hampshire, 94-78, on Sunday afternoon from Hammel Court to improve to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The victory moved the Warriors into a tie for first place in the Northeast Division, the first time the program has had at least a share of the top spot in the division through the first seven games since the divisional format was adopted four years ago.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 94, #19/#RV Southern N.H. 78
Records: Merrimack (8-3, 5-2 NE10) | #19/#RV Southern N.H. (8-2, 5-2 NE10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
The Turning Point:
With the score at 52-50 in favor of the Warriors with 13:31 remaining, the Navy and Gold embarked on a 12-2 run over the next 3:02 of game action to take a 12-point lead, 64-52. The lead never dipped below seven points over the remainder of the second stanza, with Merrimack collecting the 16-point win.
How It Happened (First Half)
- Sophomore forward Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) hit a contested layup to conclude a 10-2 run for Merrimack, turning an 8-2 deficit into a 12-10 advantage at the 14:38 mark of the opening stanza
- The visitors responded with a 11-2 stretch of their own to take a 21-14 lead, but the Warriors ripped off seven unanswered to tie things up. The stretch included a 3-pointer from Boulter and a midrange jumper from graduate forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.)
- Freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) went coast-to-coast following a defensive board to give the hosts at 27-25 advantage with 7:09 on the clock. The lead was short-lived, as the Penmen embarked on an 8-2 run to make it a 33-29 game with under five minutes to play
- A half of runs continued as a 6-0 stretch for the hosts that finished with Boulter's third 3-pointer of the first 20 minutes made it 34-33 in favor of the Warriors.
- Chris Walters, SNHU's leading scorer and rebounder, appeared to give the visitors a 41-38 halftime lead with only eight seconds left, but sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) raced the length of the court and made a layup while being fouled by Walters. Merrimack's second-year guard sank the free throw to tie the game after 20 minutes
How It Happened (Second Half)
- Junior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) started the second half strong, collecting four points, two rebounds and one block over the first four minutes as Merrimack led 49-46 after his second field goal. Freshman Devon Moore (Hanover, Pa.) hit a corner trey off a kick-out pass from classmate Jaleel Lord (Jersey City, N.J.) to make it 52-48 Warriors at the 15:21 mark
- Hayes scored five of Merrimack's eight points during an 8-0 run that gave the Warriors a double-digit advantage at 60-50 nearing the 11-minute mark of the first half
- The Warriors' run extended to a 12-2 margin following a block from Barry that led to a run out by McLaughlin for a contested lay-in. Walters ended the stretch with a three-point play to cut Merrimack's lead to nine, 64-55
- Adrian Oliveira converted a four-point play for the Penmen to make it an eight-point game, but McLaughlin answered with a four-point play of his own on Merrimack's next possession pushing the lead back to double figures, 73-61, at the 8:18 mark
- A couple minutes later and with less than six minutes remaining, Barry converted a 3-point play to give the Warriors a 81-68 advantage, their largest of the game to that point
- The exclamation point of the game came with 61 seconds to go, as Boulter fired off his fifth 3-point field goal of the afternoon to make it a 92-76 game. Merrimack's sharp-shooting forward finished the day with a game-high 25 points
Inside The Numbers
- The victory marked the second straight season that the Warriors have knocked off a nationally ranked program. The Penmen entered Sunday ranked among the top-25 in the national D2SIDA poll and were receiving votes in the NABC Division II poll
- With the win, the Warriors joined the Penmen and Franklin Pierce as programs in the division who finished the first half of the divisional slate with a 5-2 record. Each of the three teams went 1-1 against each other over the first seven games of the NE10 schedule
- Hayes collected his fourth double-double of the season with a 19-point, 13-rebound performance on Sunday. He set a new season high boards, while he dished out a game-high nine assists to end the day one shy of his second triple-double of the campaign. The Warriors' point guard one rebound shy of tripling up earlier this year against Saint Michael's
- All five of Merrimack's starters posted double-figure outputs: Boulter (25), Barry (20), Hayes (19), McLaughlin (15) and Howes (12). Individually, the entire group shot at least 50 percent from the field
- Despite being outrebounded by 15 on the offensive glass, the Warriors limited the Penmen to shooting 33.8 percent from the field – the Penmen's worst shooting percentage to date – and 20.8 percent from beyond the arc.
- Field Goals (%): MER 34-60 (56.7) // SNHU 26-77 (33.8)
- 3-Point Field Goals (%): MER 9-21 (42.9) // SNHU 5-24 (20.8)
Up Next
The Warriors will not return to action until Friday, Dec. 30, when the Warriors will close out 2016 with a non-conference affair against LIU Post at 3 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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