McLaughlin's Late Layup Gives Men's Basketball Three-Point Win at Assumption Thursday
Links: Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – After going over nine minutes between field goals over the last 10 minutes of the second half, sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) hit the game-winning layup with 19 seconds left on Thursday night as the Merrimack College men's basketball team came away with a 62-59 Northeast-10 Conference victory over Assumption College from Laska Gymnasium.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 62, Assumption 59
Records: Merrimack (7-3, 4-2 NE10) | Assumption (2-7, 2-5 NE10)
Location: Laska Gymnasium | Worcester, Mass.
How It Happened
- Assumption scored 12 of the game's first 19 points to build a five-point advantage just 3:52 into the game. The Warriors responded by going on a 15-3 run to take a 22-15 advantage at the 10:11 mark. Freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) totaled six points during the stretch from graduate forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) added four more
- With the lead at 24-15, the Greyhounds poured in five straight points, but the Warriors responded with a 6-0 run of their own that featured back-to-back lay-ins from junior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.). Assumption called a timeout trailing by 10, 30-20, with seven minutes left in the half
- After Assumption chipped away to make it a 31-25 game with under six minutes to play, senior Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.) and Howes hit consecutive buckets around a two-pointer for the Greyhounds. The Warriors led, 35-27, with 3:43 remaining in the half
- Merrimack's lead nearly evaporated over the final two minutes. Damien Rance, Assumption's leading scorer, hit a right corner three to cut the Greyhounds' deficit to four with under a minute to play. Senior Declan Soukup added a left-wing three as time expired to cap off a 15-6 run to end the half for the host, making it a 36-35 game after 20 minutes
- The first eight minutes of the second half saw the program's combine for 23 points, with Assumption edging Merrimack by one to tie the game at 47-all at the 11:54 mark. After Assumption took a brief lead, McLaughlin swished a left-wing 3-pointer to give Merrimack a 55-53 lead with 9:40 left
- After that make, Merrimack endured a drought of over nine minutes without a field goal, but Assumption only made two shots during that stretch. With the score at 59-57 in favor of the Greyhounds, sophomore Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) hit two free throws to tie the game. Merrimack got a stop on defense and called a timeout with possession and only 56.8 seconds to play
- The Greyhounds had a triple miss on their possession, and Barry ripped down the defensive board. He handed off to Hayes who found McLaughlin sprinting up the floor for an uncontested layup with 18 seconds left. Barry made 1-of-2 at the line after Hayes blocked a potential game-tying layup, and then it was McLaughlin who rejected a potential game-tying triple as time expired
Inside The Numbers
- Three Warriors finished in double figures, led by 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from Barry. Boulter contributed 16 points while Hayes added 10 more in 36 minutes of action
- After doubling-up for the first time this season on Tuesday, Barry notched his second straight double-double by pulling down 11 boards, seven of which came on the defensive glass
- The second half morphed into a defensive struggle, with the two units combining for 50 points. Merrimack made just two field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game, both by McLaughlin
- Three Greyhounds finished in double figures, led by a double-double from Rance of 15 points and 10 boards
- Field Goals (%): MER 23-59 (39.0) // ASM 21-59 (35.6)
- 3-Point Field Goals (%): MER 4-20 (20.0) // ASM 11-30 (36.7)
Up Next
The Warriors will be off next week for finals and return to Hammel Court on Sunday, Dec. 18, when the Navy and Gold host No. 18/23 Southern New Hampshire at 3 p.m. in their final divisional game of 2016.
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