Men’s Basketball Races Past New Haven, 75-59; Warriors Advance to First NE10 Semifinal Since 09-10

Links: Box Score | Highlights | Boulter/Hayes Interview

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior Ryan Boulter hit four second-half three-pointers, sophomore Juvaris Hayes added nine second-half assists and the Merrimack College men's basketball program turned a five-point halftime advantage into a 75-59 victory over the University of New Haven on Sunday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals from Hammel Court. The Warriors advance to face top-seeded Le Moyne in the NE10 Semifinals on Wednesday night, the program's first appearance in the semis since the 2009-10 season.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 75, New Haven 59
Records: Merrimack (19-10) | New Haven (17-10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.  

NE10 Championship Schedule:
Quarterfinals ­ Sunday, February 25
Game 3:  Le Moyne (No. 1 seed SW) def. Stonehill (No. 4 seed NE) – 99-60
Game 4:  Saint Anselm (No. 1 seed NE) def. Southern Connecticut (No. 4 seed SW) – 93-87
Game 5:  Bentley (No. 3 seed NE) def. Saint Rose (No. 2 seed SW) – 68-65
Game 6:  Merrimack (No. 2 seed NE) def. New Haven (No. 3 seed SW)  – 75-59

Semifinals ­ Wednesday, February 28^th (at highest seeds remaining):
Game 7: Merrimack (No. 2 seed NE) at Le Moyne (No. 1 seed SW) - 7:00 PM
Game 8: Bentley (No. 3 seed NE) at Saint Anselm (No. 1 seed NE)  - 7:00 PM

Championship ­ Saturday, March 3^rd (at highest seed remaining):
Game 9:  Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner - 1:00 PM | Broadcast live on Northeast10.tv

Marquee Moments:

• With New Haven hanging in the game in the first half, the duo of redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr. and sophomore Devon Moore kept Merrimack right with the Chargers. The former totaled eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while the later came off the bench and hit all three of his attempts from distance as the duo combined for 17 first-half points
• Senior Kyle Howes hit his first four attempts of the second half, igniting a 19-8 start for the Warriors that gave the hosts a 49-36 advantage by the 15:29 mark
• The visitors clawed within seven midway through the stanza, but Boulter broke the game open with three consecutive treys in a span of 1:53 to extend Merrimack's lead to 20 at 71-51

Rapid Recap

• The Warriors started the game on a 6-0 run, the Chargers answered with an 8-0 spurt to take a two-point lead seven minutes into the contest
• Moore and Idris Joyner came off the bench and hit triples, helping Merrimack to a 24-20 advantage at the 6:10 mark of the opening stanza. Moore hit his third three in as many attempts late in the half as the Warriors took a 33-28 lead to the locker room
• Howes stormed out of the gate in the second half, shooting 3-for-3 in an 11-4 Merrimack run to start the half that resulted in a 44-32 lead for Merrimack
• Junior Troy McLaughlin hit a right-corner triple with 12 minutes remaining that increased the Warriors' lead to 12. New Haven answered with a 6-0 burst, which Boulter responded to with a three-ball of his own, giving Merrimack a 55-45 lead with 9:53 to play
• Boulter's first of three treys in the final six minutes came at the 5:44 mark, increasing the Warriors' advantage to 16, 65-49, with 5:44 to play. Merrimack's advantage never dipped below 16 over the remainder of the afternoon

Top Performers

• Hayes finished with a game-high 15 assists to go along with 11 points, his eighth game this season with at least 10 helpers. The point guard now has six double-doubles this season
• Boulter led four Warriors in double figures with 17 points. Five of his six field goals came from distance
• Both Howes (13) and Anderson Jr. (10) both finished in double figures as well
• The Warriors held senior Danny Upchurch – New Haven's leading scorer – to just two points on 1-of-11 shooting
• Merrimack dominated the three-point line, hitting 14 treys while holding New Haven to 0-for-14 from distance

Notes and Notables

• Merrimack's victory is the program's first in the NE10 Championship since an opening-round conquest over New Haven back in the 2014-15 season
• The Warriors have 19 wins to match last season's total. The Navy and Gold have not reached 20 in a season since 2009-10, the last time the program advanced to the conference semifinals
• Both Merrimack (No. 9) and New Haven (No. 10) were ranked in the latest NCAA Division II East Region poll, with the top-eight qualifying for the NCAA Tournament
• After Sunday's Performance, Boulter and Hayes are both neck-and-neck in the race for 1,000 points. Boulter has 963 points, trailing his sophomore counterpart by four (967). The duo will be the 44^th and 45^th players in school history with 1,000 career points
• With five steals on Sunday, Hayes now has 112 this season and is three away from setting a new NE10 single-season record 

Up Next
The Warriors advance to face Southwest Division champion and No. 19/22 Le Moyne College on Wednesday night in Syracuse, N.Y. This will be the program's second trip to Syracuse this season after falling to the Dolphins in January, 68-61.