| Matchup |
Merrimack (11-6, 6-4 NE10) vs.
Le Monye (8-6, 5-4 NE10) |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019 // 2 p.m. – NOTE TIME CHANGE |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – In an earlier-than-usual 2 p.m. tip-off at Hammel Court, the Merrimack College men's basketball program invites Le Moyne College to campus for a Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional tilt on campus Saturday. The Warriors and Dolphins have met twice in the previous two season; Le Moyne bested Merrimack in both occasions last year, including a NE10 Semifinal triumph in Syracuse, N.Y.
Promotions:
- Merrimack's marketing staff will be distributing 100 mini-hoop sets to the first 100 students in attendance ahead of Saturday's game! Students will receive on hoop set per Mack Card. Giveaways are only available while supplies last.
Five Things to Know:
- Outside of the game's first five minutes, the Warriors led start-to-finish in a 13-point win at Adelphi on Tuesday (78-65). Every player that took the floor scored for Merrimack, and the Warriors hit a season-best 15 3-pointers en route to victory. Eight of Merrimack's nine contributors hit at least one trey led by a season-best four from sophomore Khalief Crawford
- Defensively, the Warriors held Adelphi to a season-low 65 points. The Panthers began Tuesday's game averaging a Southwest Division best 82.6 points per contest. Merrimack's scoring defense has risen to first in the Northeast Division, allowing just 69.0 points per contest. Le Moyne is one of only three NE10 teams with a better scoring defense, relenting just 66.5 points per contest
- Junior Juvaris Hayes picked up a double-double on Tuesday, his third in five games, on the same day he was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List for the second straight year. The Bevo Francis is awarded to the top "small college basketball player" nationwide, encompassing NCAA Division II, III, the NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.
- Senior Ryan Boulter, junior Jaleel Lord and junior Idris Joyner follow Hayes as Merrimack's top offensive contributors. Boulter (48) and Lord (44) have combined for 92 3-pointers made this season, the second most of any teammates in the NE10. Joyner boasts the second best field-goal percentage in the region at 64.7 percent. The starting forward is averaging 9.9 points per game and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest
- Le Moyne enters Saturday as the defending regional champions, advancing to the Elite Eight last season. The Dolphins are currently 1-2 against Northeast Division foes, snapping a two-game losing streak on Tuesday against Southern New Hampshire
Series History:
- Contest No. 35 between Merrimack and Le Moyne will occur on Saturday, with the all-time series resting in favor of Le Moyne (18-16)
- Le Moyne and Merrimack have split the previous four games played between the two at Hammel Court, dating back to 2010-11. The 2016-17 season saw the Dolphins win by four, 80-76, in the regular season. The Warriors then played Le Moyne on the road in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting the top-seeded Dolphins in the East Regional Quarterfinals
- Last year's NE10 Semifinal went in the Dolphins favor, 83-55. Le Moyne went on to win the conference championship, in addition to its regional crown
Scouting the Opposition
| Merrimack (11-6, 6-4 NE10) |
Stat Category |
Le Moyne (8-6, 5-4 NE10) |
| 77.6 |
Points Per Game |
69.0 |
| 69.0 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
66.5 |
| .472 |
Field Goal Percentage |
.424 |
| .363 |
Three-Point FG Percentage |
.321 |
| 32.5 |
Rebounds Per Game |
32.4 |
| Juvaris Hayes (19.8 ppg) |
Points Leader |
Kobi Nwandu (16.4 ppg) |
| Idris Joyner (7.3 rpg) |
Rebounds Leader |
Tom Brown (8.2 rpg) |
| Hayes (6.6 apg) |
Assists Leader |
Malik Garner (3.5 apg) |
| Hayes (3.6 spg) |
Steals Leader |
Nwandu (1.0 spg) |
| Joyner (1.5 bpg) |
Blocks Leader |
Brown (0.6 bpg) |
Up Next:
Merrimack faces New Haven on Wednesday night in a 7:30 tip-off at Hammel Court.
