Men’s Basketball Meets Stonehill in Divisional Clash Wednesday Night

Matchup	Merrimack (16-9, 12-6 NE10) at Stonehill (15-9, 11-7 NE10)
Date/Time	Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2018 (7:30 p.m.)
Venue	Easton, Mass. // Merkert Gym (Tickets)
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video // Twitter // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team can clinch a top-two finish in the Northeast Division and secure a home game in the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals with a win on Wednesday night when the second-place Warriors travel to third-place Stonehill. Tip-off from Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Mass. is set for 7:30 p.m.   

NE10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-five programs in the Northeast Division advance to the NE10 Championship. The fourth-place finisher hosts the No. 5 seed from the Southwest Division, while the fifth-place finisher travels to the No. 4 seed out of the Southwest for the First Round. Seeds No. 1-3 earn byes to the Quarterfinals

1. Saint Anselm (18-6, 13-5)
2. Merrimack (16-9, 12-6)
3. Stonehill (15-9, 11-7)
4. SNHU (13-10, 9-9)
5. Bentley (12-11, 9-9)
6. Franklin Pierce (13-10, 8-10)
7. Assumption (7-17, 3-15)
8. Saint Michael's (6-17, 3-15)

Last Time Out:

• The Warriors surged forward midway through the second half against Southern New Hampshire on Saturday, used a 10-0 to turn a 51-49 advantage into a double-digit hold on the contest. Merrimack never trailed by double figures over the remainder of the game
• Three Warriors scored in double figures, led by 17 points from sophomore Juvaris Hayes and 16 from junior forward Ryan Boulter
• The victory clinched a postseason spot for the Navy and Gold, and kept the Warriors within one game of the division lead

'Mack Facts:

• Hayes leads Merrimack in nearly every statistical category, including points (18.5), rebounds (6.4), assists (8.1) and steals (3.7) per game. Hayes is the nation's leader in assists per game, and total steals (93), while he's second in total assists (202) and steals per game
• Hayes' 93 thefts are the most for the program in at least 17 years, and the most of an NE10 student-athlete in over a decade
• Both Hayes and Boulter are nearing 1,000-point milestones. Boulter boasts 917 career points entering the final three regular-season games, while Hayes has closed the gap on the upperclassmen by pulling within 106 points of 1,000
• Merrimack ranks eighth in the NE10 in scoring offense (74.7) and third in scoring defense (71.1). The Warriors lead the Northeast Division in scoring defense

The Skyhawks:

• Stonehill is one of the hottest teams in the division, entering the week on a four-game winning streak and winning six of its last seven games
• The Skyhawks won twice on the road last week to improve their record away from campus to 8-4. Stonehill has won seven of 12 home games this season
• Sophomore Will Moreton is the reigning NE10 Player of the Week, and on the season is averaging close to 18.0 points per game. Moreton leads the Skyhawks with nearly three three-pointers made per game
• As a team, the Skyhawks average 11.2 makes from beyond the arc, which leads the division and is the second-most in the NE10

The Series:

• Merrimack demolished Stonehill in the teams' first meeting, scoring a season-high 105 points in a 38-point win back in November
• Four Warriors scored in double figures in the game, including 34 points from Boulter on 12-of-17 shooting and 8-of-11 from beyond the arc. He tied his career best for three-pointers made in the game
• The Navy and Gold have won their last two trips to Merkert Gym

Up Next
The Warriors play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon when Merrimack faces Bentley at 2 p.m. from the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass.