Links: Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Outside of the first 3:06 of Saturday's contest on Long Island, the No. 18/18 Merrimack College men's basketball program led wire-to-wire in the Warriors' 75-62 victory against LIU Post from the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y., competing in their first of two games this weekend at the LIU Post Thanksgiving Classic.
The Basics
Score: #18/18 Merrimack 75, LIU Post 62
Records: #18/18 Merrimack (4-0) | LIU Post (0-3)
Location: Pratt Recreation Center | Brookville, N.Y.
Marquee Moments:
- After the team's were separated by only one point, 15-14, over the first 10 minutes of the game, the Warriors broke the game open with a 16-0 run to make it a 31-14 contest. Junior Troy McLaughlin (Old Tappen, N.J.) and senior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) started the run with three-pointers, while McLaughlin canned two more to go 3-of-3 from beyond the arc during the stretch
- The Pioneers threatened to pull within one possession of the Warriors on multiple occasions throughout the remainder of the game, but never were closer than five points
- A 9-2 run spanning the 11:47-8:00 marks of the second half turned a 52-47 game into a 61-49 Merrimack advantage. The Warriors' lead never dropped back to single digits over the remainder of the game
Rapid Recap
- Junior Ryan Boulter (Mansfield, Mass.) netted a pair of three-pointers as Merrimack opened a 15-9 lead. The Pioneers responded with five unanswered points, however, to pull within one at the 11:14 mark
- Merrimack's prolonged run only took 3:06 to unfold. The Warriors scored on six straight possessions, four of which ended with triples. The Navy and Gold shot 6-of-6 from the field during the stretch
- LIU's defense contained Merrimack from there, however, trimming five points of its deficit over the remaining eight minutes of the opening stanza. The Warriors held a 37-25 lead after 20 minutes
- Boulter sank another triple two minutes into the second stanza, widening the Warriors' lead to 10, 42-32. LIU answered with five unanswered points to cut the margin in half, however, to pull within five at the 16:04 mark
- The Pioneers' deficit ranged from 5-10 points until the 10:45 mark, when Merrimack used a 6-0 run that featured points from Boulter, McLaughlin and redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr. (New York, N.Y.). The stretch pushed the Warriors' advantage to 12, 61-49, with eight minutes left
- Merrimack's deficit never dipped below 11 points over the remainder of the game, with the lead growing to as many as 15 with five minutes to play
Notes and Notables
- Boulter led all players with 22 points and now has three straight 20-point performances. The sharpshooting junior missed just four shots (9-of-13) on the day, including 4-of-6 from three-point range
- The Mansfield native increased his shooting percentage to 60.3 percent through four games, hitting 19-of-33 three-pointers including 18-of-28 over the last three
- Sophomore point guard Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) notched his second double-double of the year with 12 points and 12 assists. He added a season-high tying five steals
- Howes finished with a season-high 14 points, his second-highest output over his last 34 contests. He tied his personal best with three triples
- Merrimack countered a 42-26 deficiency on the glass by forcing 19 Pioneers turnovers compared to just eight cough-ups for the Warriors
Up Next
The Warriors have one more game on Long Island tomorrow afternoon when Merrimack faces another undefeated program in the University of Bridgeport at 1 p.m.
