Men's Basketball Uses Strong First Half to Defeat Dominican (N.Y.), 67-65
Links: Box Score
ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team started 2017 off in the win column by travelling to the Hennessey Center on Monday afternoon and defeating the Dominican College Chargers, 67-65. The Warriors outscored the Chargers by 18 points in the opening half before withstanding a late comeback attempt from the hosts to prevail with the victory.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 67, Dominican (N.Y.) 65
Records: Merrimack (10-3) | Dominican (8-6)
Location: Hennessey Center | Orangeburg, N.Y.
The Turning Point:
With the score tied at 15-all with 10:11 remaining in the first half, the Warriors outscored the Chargers by 20 over the next 8:31 of action to take control. The score sat at 40-20 following the 25-5 Merrimack run, that featured 12 points from sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) and seven straight points from the right-handed shot of classmate Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.)
How It Happened (First Half)
- Graduate forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) scored five of Merrimack's first 10 points, including an old-fashioned three-point play to stake the Warriors to a 10-6 advantage over the first 4:06 of the opening stanza
- After the Chargers worked their way back into the game to tie the score at 15, the Navy and Gold embarked on a 7-0 spurt. McLaughlin collected the run's first five points including the team's first triple of the day while junior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) closed things out with a lay-in to make it 22-15 with 8:27 remaining
- Beginning at the 6:02 mark, Boulter scored seven straight points over a 53-second span to extend the Warriors' lead, preceding two free throws from McLaughlin to push the advantage to double digits for the first time, 31-20.
- From that point, the Warriors continued to roll on the pace of nine straight points, all of which came from Merrimack's starting backcourt of McLaughlin and freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.). Boulter scored the final points of the half to make it a 42-24 game after 20 minutes
How It Happened (Second Half)
- Dominican started the second half with six straight points, before Hayes' lay-in put the Warriors on the board and prompted a 30-second Merrimack timeout. The Chargers brought the deficit down to 11, 46-35, before consecutive buckets from Howes and freshman Jaleel Lord (Jersey City, N.J.) increased the lead to 15 with 14:23 remaining
- With the score at 55-40 approaching the midway point of the half, the Chargers went on a 10-0 run through the 5:31 mark to make it a single-digit game, 55-50. After going almost eight minutes without a field goal, Barry sank a contested turnaround jumper to put the Warriors ahead by three, 58-55, with less than three minutes remaining
- Approaching the final minute of regulation, Howes pulled up for a left-corner triple to make it a 61-57 game. Boulter and Hayes combined to go 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to counter a pair of 3-pointers from the Chargers, including one at the buzzer that made it a 67-65 final
Inside The Numbers
- Four Warriors scored in double figures, led by Boulter with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The sophomore sharpshooter has now led the Navy and Gold in scoring on five occasions, the most of any Warrior
- Following his 21-point and 16-assist effort against LIU Post on Friday, Hayes narrowly missed out on a triple-double with 14 points, nine assists and eight rebounds
- McLaughlin's first-half effort propelled the Warriors to victory. The second-year shooting guard finished with 14 points over the first 20 minutes and only missed one shot
- Gerrel Irvin led the way for the hosts by posting totals of 20 points and 20 rebounds. The forward made 10 of his 15 field-goal attempts before fouling out after 34 minutes of action
- Merrimack frequented the free-throw line 24 times, compared to only six trips to the charity stripe for the Chargers. The Warriors scored 17 points off free throws, while Dominican missed only one of its six free-throw attempts
Up Next
Merrimack begins cross-divisional play on Wednesday night when the Warriors host the University of New Haven at 7:30 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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