Men's Basketball Upsets #7/9 Saint Anselm, 90-81, Behind Solano's Game-Clinching Triple
Links: Highlights | Box Score
Postgame Reaction: Solano | Bert Hammel
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior guard Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) sunk the game-winning three-pointer with 1:16 remaining, breaking an 81-81 tie and sparking a 9-0 run to end the game for the Merrimack College men's basketball team as the Warriors took down the No. 7/9 Saint Anselm Hawks, 90-81, on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 90, #7/9 Saint Anselm 81
Records: Merrimack (12-10, 7-9 NE-10) | #7/9 Saint Anselm (17-4, 12-4 NE-10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
The Hawks arrived on campus as the seventh-ranked team in the nation according to the national coaches' poll and ninth in the national media poll. The Navy and Gold nearly defeated Saint Anselm earlier in the year, trailing by one late in the second half before the Hawks pulled away.
In a game that featured 15 ties and 14 lead changes, from the 13:01 mark of second half until Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) hit a jumper with 37 second to player, neither team led by more than three points. It was Hammel who made consecutive buckets to turn a 57-52 Saint Anselm advantage to a 57-56 contest with 12:39 to play. Senior point guard JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.) followed suit with a layup to give the Warriors a 58-57 lead.
At the 8:17 mark, the Hawks punched back as Mike McCahey, the team's leading scorer, drilled a three-pointer, but on Merrimack's next possession freshman Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) connected on his first of two second-half treys to tie the game at 65. McLaughlin's next three gave Merrimack a lead a 72-69, but it was McCahey who responded with another triple to knot the contest at 72-all with 5:32 to go.
Following a steal and a layup from Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.), McCahey continued the trend by making another three-pointer, tying the game at 81-81 with 1:38 on the clock. After missing his first eight triples of the game, Solano sunk a right-wing three-pointer with 76 seconds remaining to put the Warriors up for good. Merrimack's seven-point win marked its largest lead of the second half.
The only time either team led by double digits was midway through the first half, when Solano's free throw made it 21-11 Warriors. Hammel notched six points, while sophomore Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) contributed four points off the bench during that stretch. The Hawks outscored the Warriors by 11 points, 27-16, over the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza to lead by one at intermission.
Inside The Numbers
- The victory marked Merrimack's first win over a ranked opponent since the beginning of last season, when the Warriors took down No. 14 Philadelphia. It marked the first time that the Navy and Gold faced an opponent ranked in the top ten since the Warriors faced Bentley twice in the 2009-10 campaign when the Falcons were ranked No. 9 nationwide
- The Warriors made a concerted effort to attack the basket in the second half, only attempting eight three-pointers over the final 20 minutes. That resulted in Merrimack outscoring Saint Anselm by 20 points, 48-28, in the paint
- Solano's 28 points marked his second highest output of the season. He now has 1,971 for his career, needing 29 points to become the sixth player in program history to score 2,000 career points. The senior finished 10-of-23 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line
- Balance was the key offensively, with five players scoring in double figures. Hammel slotted behind Solano with 16 points, while Strickland, Barry and Howes chipped in with 13, 10 and 10, respectively.
- McLaughlin entered the game with three triples on the season before his crucial pair of three-pointers on Saturday against the Hawks
- Strickland once again flirted with a triple-double, posting game-highs with eight rebounds and six assists to go along with his 13 points. As a team, the Warriors had four players total at least six rebounds
Up Next
The Warriors hit the road to take on Stonehill at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The Skyhawks took down Merrimack earlier this season at Hammel Court.
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