| Matchup |
Merrimack (8-5) vs.
Queens (2-11) |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, January 5, 2018 // 3 p.m. |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball begins the 2019 portion of its regular season on Saturday afternoon when the Warriors welcome Queens College (N.Y.) to Hammel Court at 3 p.m. The contest marks the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Warriors, who aim to improve their non-league record to 5-2.
Five Things to Know:
- The Warriors enter Saturday on a three-game winning streak, the program's longest of the 2018-19 season. Merrimack owns a home win over Saint Michael's (89-64) and road triumphs at AIC (80-70) and Goldey-Beacom (69-66). In those three games, Merrimack has forced 78 turnovers and tallied 48 steals, moving into 30th in the nation in turnovers forced (17.6/gm) and 18th in steals per contest (9.8). The Warriors lead the NE10 in both areas
- Queens will enter Saturday with just two wins through 13 games. The Knights' most recent contest saw them fall to fellow NE10 foe Southern Connecticut, 63-52. Queens has lost all three games its has played to NE10 opponents, also falling to Adelphi and Pace
- Junior Juvaris Hayes starts the new year as the NE10 and region's leader in field goals (110), ranking fourth nationwide in shots made. He ranks in the top five in the conference in scoring average, and ranks second in total points. He has jumped 14 spots to date on Merrimack's all-time scoring ranks, moving from 44th to 30th since the start of the season
- Senior Ryan Boulter begins his second half with three straight games of at least 15 points, and back-to-back 20-point games after returning from injury. The sharpshooter ranks third in the region in 3-point shooting, making 38 treys. He leads the NE10 and the East Region with 94 attempts from distance
- Junior Idris Joyner has continued his breakthrough season, leading the Warriors in rebounding at nearly eight per contest. He ranks in the top five in the NE10 with 100 total caroms. Classmate Jaleel Lord has hit 34 triples, the sixth most in the league, and is contributing a career-best 6.9 rebounds per game. Freshman Mikey Watkins enters Saturday as the reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week
Series History:
- Saturday will be just the second all-time meeting between Merrimack and Queens. It is the first ever at Hammel Court
- The last contest occurred in the 2000-01 campaign, a four-point win (84-80) for Merrimack
- Queen's will also be the lone East Coast Conference member on Merrimack's 2018-19 schedule
Scouting the Opposition
| Merrimack (8-5) |
Stat Category |
Queens (2-11) |
| 77.1 |
Points Per Game |
60.0 |
| 70.6 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
63.8 |
| .461 |
Field Goal Percentage |
.376 |
| .334 |
Three-Point FG Percentage |
.282 |
| 33.8 |
Rebounds Per Game |
38.8 |
| Juvaris Hayes (21.5 ppg) |
Points Leader |
Elijah Bovell (13.3 ppg) |
| Idris Joyner (7.7 rpg) |
Rebounds Leader |
Two Tied (4.3 rpg) |
| Hayes (6.0 apg) |
Assists Leader |
Dwayne Henry Jr. (2.6 apg) |
| Hayes (4.1 spg) |
Steals Leader |
Henry Jr. (1.1 spg) |
| Joyner (1.8 bpg) |
Blocks Leader |
Evan Goldberg (0.8 bpg) |
Up Next:
Merrimack resumes its NE10 schedule, playing its first cross-divisional game of the year on Wednesday when the Warriors visit Southern Connecticut – the preseason favorites in the Southwest Division – for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Moore Field House in New Haven, Conn.
