Hayes’ Near Triple-Double Sends Men’s Basketball into Break with 72-60 Win vs. Bentley

Links: Box Score | Highlights | Khalief Crawford Interview

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Sophomore point guard Juvaris Hayes (Paterson, N.J.) fell one steal shy of a triple-double, tying the nation's single-game high with nine thefts, leading the Merrimack College men's basketball program to a 72-60 win over Bentley University on Tuesday from Hammel Court. The Warriors' defense forced the Falcons into 23 turnovers, holding Bentley to a season-low 60 points.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 72, Bentley 60
Records: Merrimack (9-3, 6-1 NE10) | Bentley (6-4, 4-3 NE10)
Location:  Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.

Marquee Moments:

• Merrimack never trailed on Tuesday night, holding the nation's 15^th-leading offense to its worst scoring output of the season
• In the first half, the Warriors forced 14 Bentley turnovers, resulting in 15 more shot attempts than the visitors. The Warriors entered the locker room with a 16-point lead, 46-30, behind a 12-point, nine-assist, seven-steal opening half for Hayes
• Redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr. (New York, N.Y.) and sophomore Devon Moore (Hanover, Pa.) combined for 17 points off the bench in the opening stanza

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack's lead reached double figures for the first time at the 13:31 mark of the opening half, when freshman Khalief Crawford (Linden, N.J.) drained a left-wing three-point to make it a 16-6 game
• With the score at 18-12, the Warriors used a 8-2 run to build a 12-point lead. Hayes was part of six of the eight points, assisting on one basket and scoring the final four points of the run
• The final four minutes of the opening stanza started with Hayes feeding senior Kyle Howes (Maynard, Mass.) for a three-pointer, notching a steal on the next possession and finding Moore for a lay-in, and finding his classmate again on Merrimack's ensuing possession for a triple that increased the Warriors' advantage to 16, 40-24
• Sophomore Idris Joyner (Plainfield, N.J.) hit a left-corner triple to get Merrimack on the scoreboard to start the second half, and Hayes netted four of the next six Warriors' points to give Merrimack its largest lead to that point, 55-37, with 14:15 to play
• Over the next five minutes, the Warriors did not see their advantage dip below 15, but the Falcons chipped away, pulling within nine at 63-54 with 5:40 remaining. That was as close as the visitors got, however, as the Navy and Gold guaranteed their sixth divisional win through seven games with the 72-60 triumph

Notes and Notables

• With seven steals in the opening half, Hayes had already tied his career high entering the second stanza. The Navy and Gold's floor general finished with a career-high nine thefts
• The Warriors set a season best with 14 steals, while Bentley's 23 turnovers marked a season high for the Falcons
• Hayes became the third player in Division II this season with nine steals, joining Delta St.'s Cameron Monix and West Liberty's Dan Monteroso
• The sophomore recorded his third double-double with 16 points and 12 assists, his fourth game this season with at least 10 helpers
• Crawford (18), Moore (11) and Anderson Jr. (9) each set season highs with scoring. For Crawford, it marked his first time leading the team in points this season
• The Warriors held Bentley below 70 points for the first time all season on Tuesday. They entered the game with an 18.0 average margin of victory on the year, the 12^th-highest disparity nationwide

Up Next
Merrimack will enjoy a 19-day layoff with finals week and the holiday break occurring before the Warriors return to Hammel Court on Sunday, Dec. 31, to host Dominican (N.Y.) at 12 p.m.