Howes Collects Career High, Men's Basketball Races Past Pace for Best Start in Seven Years, 100-74
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights | Kyle Howes Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Four Warriors scored in double figures including a career-high 18 points from junior guard Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) as the Merrimack College men's basketball team raced past the visiting Pace University Setters, 100-74, on Saturday afternoon from Hammel Court. With the win, the Warriors improved to 12-3 on the season, matching the program's best start to a season since the 2009-10 campaign – the last time the program advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 100, Pace 74
Records: Merrimack (12-3, 7-2 NE10) | Pace (5-11, 2-6 NE10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
The Turning Point:
The Warriors started the second half on a 17-5 run over the first 6:44 of action, erasing any sort of doubt over who would prevail in the Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional tilt. Howes started the run with his first points of the second half, while sophomore Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) accounted for eight of the 17 points, including the final six on an old-fashioned three-point play followed by a right-wing 3-pointer.
How It Happened (First Half)
- Through the opening three minutes, Pace jumped out to a quick five-point lead, 10-5. Merrimack responded with an 8-2 spurt capped off by a 3-pointer from Howes to give Merrimack its first lead of the day at 13-12 with 15:49 left in the first
- The Setters pulled within one point, 19-18, with 12:35 remaining, but at that point the hosts went on their first extended run of the afternoon. The Warriors scored 15 of the next 18 points, featuring five points from sophomore forward Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) and another make from deep for Howes. After the run, the score read 33-22 in favor of the Warriors with 8:31 left in the opening stanza
- The teams exchanged points over the next four minutes, with a Boulter two-pointer increasing the hosts' lead to 12, 45-33. McLaughlin drilled one from distance on Merrimack's next possession, increasing the margin to 13, 48-35, with 3:31 to play
- Pace used a 7-0 run over the next 55 seconds to cut its deficit to six, but Boulter answered with a 5-0 run of his own to bring the lead back to double digits. A Setters' triple made it an eight-point game, 53-45, at the end of 20 minutes
How It Happened (Second Half)
- After the Setters made it a nine-point game, 58-49, McLaughlin answered with a jump shot to push the lead to double digits, and the visitors would not get to within single digits over the remainder of the game. On the Warriors' 12-point run to distance themselves, senior Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.) and redshirt-junior Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Garden City, N.Y.) collected pivotal buckets off the bench
- At the 12:24 mark, McLaughlin hit another triple to conclude a nine-point stretch for the second-year combo guard. Anderson Jr. added another field goal followed by a 3-pointer for Boulter to increase the Warriors' lead to 24, 80-56, before the midway point of the second half
- Following a layup from graduate forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.) to make it a 24-point lead with 5:38 to play, first-year head coach Joe Gallo began to empty his bench. Junior transfer Dillon Salva (North Brunswick, N.J.) checked in for the first time following Barry's bucket. A quick 6-0 spurt gave Merrimack its largest lead, 96-62, which prompted the entrance of sophomore Jordan Thornton (Harrisburg, Pa.)
- The duo combined for Merrimack's final field goal – which proved to be one of the highlights of the game. Salva found himself at the right wing with only one defender in front, lobbing an alley-oop to Thornton who threw down a two-handed dunk to put an exclamation point on the win
Inside The Numbers
- The Warriors collected 30 assists on 37 made field goals, besting their season high of 28 and becoming just the 19th team nationwide to dish out at least 30 helpers in a game this season. Freshman Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) led all players with 12 assists, the third time in his last four games that the rookie reached double figures. McLaughlin chipped in seven as well
- With the win, the Navy and Gold increased its season-long winning streak to six games, topping the previous high of five from November
- Merrimack reached the century mark for the first time in Gallo's tenure. Last season, the Warriors hit the 100-point plateau twice
- Every player who took the floor for Merrimack scored, including four of five starters in double figures. Salva registered his first points as a Warrior with a putback lay-in, while Thornton's dunk marked the sophomore's first field goal of 2017
- Howes posted a strong first half, hitting three 3-pointers while collecting 14 points. He finished with a career high of 18, making 6-of-11 from the field. He tied his career high with those trio of treys in the opening stanza
- McLaughlin poured in 20 points, the second most on the Warriors. He led all players in scoring in the second half, totaling 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Since moving to the starting lineup six games ago, McLaughlin is averaging 13.0 points per game
- Boulter's continued to prove why he's one of the top shooters in the NE10. He made 9-of-14 from the field, including 7-for-11 over the first 20 minutes. With 23 points, he collected his sixth 20-point game of the season and maintained his team lead in scoring (16.6 ppg)
Up Next
Merrimack battles Southern Connecticut – the preseason favorites in the Southwest Division – on Tuesday night in New Haven, Conn. at 7:30 p.m.
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