Comeback Bid Falls Short in 97-95 Defeat for Men's Basketball at Bentley Tuesday
Links: Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) saw his game-winning three-point attempt miss off back iron as the Merrimack College men's basketball team saw its comeback bid fall short against Bentley, 97-95, from the Dana Center in Waltham after the Warriors nearly erased a double-digit first-half deficit. The loss eliminated Merrimack from postseason contention.
The Basics
Score: Bentley 97, Merrimack 95
Records: Merrimack (15-12, 10-11 NE-10) | Bentley (19-7, 16-5 NE-10)
Location: Dana Center | Waltham, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top five teams in the Northeast Division advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the fifth seed playing the fourth seed out of the Southwest in the opening round. Saint Anslem and Southern New Hampshire were in overtime at the time of this release.
1) Bentley (16-5)
2) Saint Anselm (15-6)
3) Stonehill (15-6)
4) Southern New Hampshire (13-8)
5) Franklin Pierce (12-9)
6) Merrimack (10-11)
7) Saint Michael's (5-16)
8) Assumption (2-19)
How It Happened
Bentley started hot from the field, with Keegan Hyland and Alex Furness combining for the Falcons' first 15 points as the hosts were up ten, 15-5, less than five minutes into the first half. Furness swished a left-wing triple at the 11:20 mark to make it a 23-9 contest.
Senior Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) hit his second three of the game to halt a 20-6 Falcons spurt. Hyland responded with a three-point play to pull back ahead by 14 points. Classmate Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit his first triple to make it 31-19 Falcons with under nine minutes to play in the half. On the Warriors' next possession, James Kennedy (Dorchester, Mass.) cleaned up a Merrimack miss with a put-back slam.
Beginning at the 5:31 mark until a triple from Solano with 3:51 remaining, the team's combined to make seven of the game's next eight field-goal attempts, with Solano's bucket making it a 43-35 deficit. On their next possession, Solano got a friendly bounce on another make from beyond the arc, cutting the Bentley advantage to five, which is where it stood at halftime, 48-43.
Merrimack started the second half on a 7-2 run to make it a one-point game at 50-49. With 15:24 on the clock, Hammel pulled up for a left-wing trey to make it 55-54 after the Falcons extended their advantage to four. Following a pair of free throws from Kennedy, the Falcons were still up by two, 65-63, with 11:50 remaining.
From there, Bentley scored six unanswered, but Solano found Hammel in the right corner on the break for a triple bring the Warriors within five, 71-66. A 6-0 run that took the game below the eight-minute mark brought it to a 73-72 Bentley lead, with Hammel scoring the final five points for the Warriors. Minutes later, Strickland sank a triple of his own to tie the game at 75-all.
From there the Falcons went on an 11-4 spurt to surge forward at 86-79. After two free throws and a triple from Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.), the Warriors brought it down to a two-point game at 89-87. Tyler McFarland's hit two free throws for Bentley, but Hammel sank another shot from long range with 79 seconds left to bring it to 91-90. Three free throws from Hyland brought it to a 94-90 game, but Solano's triple reigned in the deficit to one, 94-93 with 26.9 left.
More makes from the line brought the Falcons advantage back to three. Hammel pulled up for a two-pointer with 10.7 on the clock to make it 96-95. McFarland made 1-of-2 from Bentley at the line, which preceded Boulter's near make from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded.
Inside The Numbers
- Hammel and Solano finished with a combined 51 points. The former made all four of his free throws, as he finished his career as Merrimack's all-time leading free-throw shooting, making over 88 percent of his attempts over the last two seasons
- Solano netted a team-high 26, connecting on nine field goals, six of which came from beyond the arc. He also contributed six rebounds, six assists and four steals
- The Preseason All-American finishes his career with 2,063 points, the third most in program history
- JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) totaled 18 points and seven assists from the point guard position. He ended the regular season as the leader in assists in the NE-10, entering Tuesday with the 20th-most helpers in the nation
- The Warriors could not overcome a Falcons team that shot over 50 percent in the opening stanza. Furness made his first seven attempts of the night and 8-of-9 in the first 20 minutes
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