Links: Box Score
Video: Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball program got off to a torrid start on Sunday afternoon, jumping out to a 20-3 start over visiting Jefferson University on Sunday afternoon via a 5-of-6 start from beyond the arc. The Warriors took a 38-32 lead into the second half, but the Rams rallied to score 40 points in the final stanza to emerge with a 72-68 victory.
Prior to the game, the Warriors recognized both junior
Juvaris Hayes and senior
Ryan Boulter for reaching 1,000 career points. The former broke the 1,000-point barrier in Merrimack's final game of the 2017-18 season, while the latter did so in Merrimack's season-opening win over Holy Family on Saturday.
The Basics
Score: Jefferson
72, Merrimack 68
Records: Merrimack (1-1) |
Jefferson (2-0)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Marquee Moments:
- Merrimack's start to the game was the best the Warriors played throughout the afternoon. The Warriors drilled five three-pointers, including three for junior Jaleel Lord as part of a 23-6 advantage for the hosts. From there, however, the Rams scored 24 of the game's next 32 points to make it a one-point game, 31-30, with 2:20 remaining
- The turning point in the second half came at the 12:39 mark, with Merrimack holding a 46-40 advantage. The Rams scored 10 unanswered from there to take a 50-46 lead, and never relinquished the lead to claim the victory
Rapid Recap
- Junior Idris Joyner and sophomore Devin Jensen joined Lord with triples as part of Merrimack's 23-6 start to the afternoon. The Warriors also scored 20 of the day's first 23 points, taking a 17-point lead with 13:54 remaining
- The next nine minutes saw the Rams use a 19-8 stretch to cut their deficit to six, 31-25. The visitors scored five unanswered in a quick spurt, 31-30, to pull within one. The Warriors ended the half strongly, scoring eight of the half's final nine points with Boulter adding an exclamation point with a late lay-in to make it a 38-32 contest through 20 minutes
- Jefferson threatened to take the lead early in the second half, but senior Troy McLaughlin connected on a left-wing trey to put Merrimack back up four, 44-40. From there, Jefferson's 10-0 spurt turned the tides on the game in the visitors' favor
- Jefferson's lead never dwindled below two over the remainder of the game. Merrimack's deficit sat at four, 63-59, with 2:13 left, and the Warriors had of pair of opportunities to get possession back, but Jefferson collected two offensive rebounds resulting in a put-back bucket that pushed its lead back to six, 65-69. The Rams converted their free throws the rest of the way to end Merrimack's comeback
Notes and Numbers
- Jefferson's rebounding advantage proved decisive, as the visitors owned a 40-25 advantage on the glass. The Rams claimed 19 second-chance points compared to seven for Merrimack
- Hayes narrowly missed out on his third career triple-double, finishing the night with a game-high 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He shot 11-of-16 from the field, as well
- Lord finished the day with 14 points and five rebounds, ending the weekend by averaging a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds per contest
- The Warriors finished the afternoon shooting 50 percent from the field, while Jefferson did not make a substitution all afternoon and saw all five players score in double figures
Up Next
The Warriors return home on Wednesday night, hosting Assumption at 7:30 p.m. in their first Northeast-10 Conference game of the season from Hammel Court.
