Furious Second-Half Rally Falls Short; Men’s Basketball Defeated at Bentley, 72-54

Links: Box Score

WALTHAM, Mass. – Despite working its way within two points midway through the second half, the Merrimack College men's basketball program could not overcome a first-half drought that saw the Warriors go the final 11 minutes without a field goal. The host Bentley Falcons ended the half on a 21-1 run to take a 20-point advantage into the second stanza, a lead they did not relinquish on Saturday from the Dana Center.  

The Basics
Score: Bentley 72, Merrimack 54
Records: Merrimack (17-10, 13-7 NE10) | Bentley (14-11, 11-9 NE10)
Location: Dana Center | Waltham, Mass.  

NE10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-five programs in the Northeast Division advance to the NE10 Championship. Merrimack has secured a top-two seed in next week's tournament, and will have a bye to the quarterfinal round on Sunday, Feb. 25.

1. Saint Anselm (19-6, 14-5)
2. Merrimack (17-10, 13-7)
3. Stonehill (15-10, 11-8)
4. Bentley (14-11, 11-9)
5. SNHU (13-11, 9-10)
6. Franklin Pierce (14-10, 9-10)
7. Assumption (7-18, 3-16)
8. Saint Michael's (6-18, 3-16)

Marquee Moments:

• With the score tied at 14-all with 11:25 remaining, the Warriors would just score once over the remainder of the half. Bentley outscored Merrimack by 20 during that span, bringing a 35-15 lead to the locker room
• The Warriors started the second half by outplaying the Falcons to the tune of a 28-10 run that cut their deficit to two, 45-43, with 8:01 remaining
• Bentley recovered, however, to use a 16-2 burst over the next three-plus minutes to extend its advantage back to 16 and put the game out of reach

Rapid Recap

• The first 10 minutes of the game saw the local rivals play to a 14-14 tie after junior Troy McLaughlin finished a drive-and-kick triple off a feed from sophomore Jaleel Lord
• The Warriors went cold from the field over the latter half of the opening stanza, scoring just one point and seeing Bentley end the half on a 21-1 scamper that resulted in a 35-15 advantage for the hosts
• The Navy and Gold started the second half on a 8-0 run over the first 2:40 to trim its deficit down to 35-23. Senior Kyle Howes and junior Ryan Boulter had three points each. Two minutes later found freshman Khalief Crawford finishing on the break, extending Merrimack's run to 12-0 and prompting another Bentley timeout
• The Falcons started the gather momentum back, increasing their lead to 13. Lord responded with a left-corner trey to make it a 42-32 game, and the Warriors used a timeout with 11:30 to play
• The Warriors scored 11 of the next 14 points to pull within two, 45-43, but Bentley scored the next four and six of eight to increase its lead back to six, 51-45, with 6:18 remaining
• Bentley's run extended to a 16-2 margin, bringing the Falcons' advantage up 16 with under four minutes to play. Merrimack was not able to claw within single digits the rest of the afternoon

Notes and Notables

• Sophomore Juvaris Hayes notched a team-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. He now has 104 steals this season to lead the nation
• Merrimack shot 23.1 percent in the first half (6-26), but recovered to hit 15-of-30 over the final 20 minutes
• The free-throw line swung in Bentley's favor, with the Falcons knocking in 26-of-27 attempts. Merrimack hit just 8-of-15 at the line
• Sophomore Chris Hudson led Bentley with 23 points, hitting all 12 of his free throws. Senior Brandon Wheeler and junior Ryan Richmond finished with 16 points apiece

Up Next
The Warriors host Saint Michael's on Senior Night Tuesday, honoring the careers of redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr. and Howes. Tip-off against the Purple Knights will begin at 7:30 p.m.