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Ryan Boulter Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – Playing in front of a near-capacity Hammel Court on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day, the Merrimack College men's basketball team prevailed over Bentley University, 65-54, to clinch the Northeast Division's second seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Warriors ended the final 7:54 of the game on a 21-6 run that erased a four-point deficit and ended with an 11-point victory for the hosts.
Regardless of the result of Tuesday's regular season finale at Saint Michael's, Merrimack is locked into hosting the NE10 Quarterfinals next Sunday (March 3) at Hammel Court. The Warriors will face the Southwest Division's third seed, which can still be any of three different teams entering Tuesday's action. Merrimack also entered the weekend as the No. 4 program in the first NCAA Division II East Region rankings of the winter, topping the seventh-ranked Falcons on Saturday.
Seniors
Ryan Boulter and
Troy McLaughlin were recognized before the game, and Boulter put forth one of his best efforts of the season with a team-high 19 points and five 3-pointers. Junior
Juvaris Hayes notched an impressive effort, flirting with a quadruple-double; the point guard totaled 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals, igniting the Warriors' closing run by totaling 11 of the 21 points scored.
The Basics
Score:
Merrimack 65, Bentley 44
Records: Merrimack (18-9, 13-7 NE10) | Bentley (18-9, 11-9 NE10)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Merrimack started the game strong, scoring eight of the day's first 11 points that included Boulter's first of five triples. Bentley responded, however, using a 13-3 run to move ahead by five, 16-11, at the 11:08 mark
- The Warriors took control from there, utilizing a 9-2 stretch over the next 5:09 to move ahead by two, 20-18. Junior Idris Joyner notched consecutive buckets towards the end of the run, while the team's would net just nine combined points over the remainder of the half. Boulter broke a 24-24 deadlock with 71 seconds remaining until the halftime buzzer, hitting a triple that gave Merrimack a three-point lead at intermission
- A half of runs unfolded in the second. Merrimack started out fast, building an eight-point lead, 34-26, following a 7-2 start to the stanza. Hayes hit back-to-back driving layups to end the run. A bit later, Bentley used a 7-0 run to erase a five-point hole, creating a 39-37 advantage with 12:53 remaining
- Mclaughlin hit a corner triple that capped a 91-second blitzing by Merrimack, finishing off a stretch of seven unanswered points that gave the Warriors the lead back, 44-39. Bentley had one more run in them, however, using a 9-0 stretch that ended at the 7:54 mark, and found that visitors up four, 48-44
- Merrimack created the night's final lead change with 5:35 on the clock, when Boulter stole a Falcons pass, and send a full-court feed to Hayes that put the Warriors ahead, 50-49. Merrimack used a 14-1 stretch that ended with 69 second remaining to put the game away, holding a 58-49 edge at the end of that run. The Warriors held the Falcons without a field goal for a near-seven minute stretch in the last 10 minutes of the final stanza
Notes and Numbers
- Merrimack's division-leading defense suffocated the high-powered Falcons. Bentley less than 40 percent from the field (20-52), and committed 18 turnovers. Merrimack turned those miscues into 25 points, and netted 14 points on the fast break compared to only two for Bentley
- The Warriors were particularly effective on leading scoring Ryan Richmond. The 2,000-point scorer was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting, snapping Richmond's 81-game double-figure scoring streak. The senior guard had scored at least 10 points in every game since the start of his sophomore season
- Hayes notched his sixth double-double of the season, and posted at least seven steals for the fourth time this season. He increased his nation-leading total to 109 thefts
- Boulter moved into the NE10 lead in 3-pointers on Saturday, increasing his season total to 85. Merrimack improved its record to 8-2 this season when Boulter nets at least 19 points
- Freshman Justin Connolly contributed valuable minutes of the bench, playing in a career-high 28 minutes and contributing four points and three blocks
Up Next
The Warriors face Saint Michael's on Tuesday in their regular season finale at 7:30 p.m. in Colchester, Vt. Merrimack will look to finish the season with 19 total victories, and match the program's best conference record since the NE10 moved to a divisional format (14-7). Pending Tuesday's results, the Warriors will face either Le Moyne, New Haven or Adelphi in the NE10 Quarterfinals.
