Links: Box Score
COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Merrimack College men's basketball program netted a season-high 104 points on Tuesday night in its regular season finale at Saint Michael's College, defeating the Purple Knights by a 104-72 margin at the Ross Sports Center. The victory gave the Warriors their 19
th regular season victory, setting a new high for third-year head coach
Joe Gallo and notching the most regular season wins for the program since 2009-10.
Merrimack entered the contest locked into the second seed in the Northeast Division, and learned it will host third-seeded Adelphi University at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals.Merrimack defeated Adelphi in the regular season meeting between the programs, which was played in Garden City, N.Y.
Tuesday's scoring output marked the second highest of the Gallo era and fourth time reaching the century mark overall. The Warriors shot a season-best 60 percent from the field, and posted their third best 3-point shooting percentage of the season, sinking 16-of-31 attempts (.516). The 16 makes for the Warriors were also a season high.
The Basics
Score:
Merrimack 104, Saint Michael's 72
Records: Merrimack (19-9, 14-7 NE10) | Saint Michael's (7-19, 4-17 NE10)
Location: Ross Sports Center | Colchester, Vt.
Rapid Recap
- The first six minutes of the night saw the teams trade baskets as Saint Michael's led by one, 15-14, at the 14:02 mark. The next four-minute segment saw the Warriors begin to extend their lead; junior Juvaris Hayes converted a three-point play to increase the visitors edge to seven, 26-19, with 10:24 remaining
- A 7-0 run turned Merrimack's 28-24 advantage into a 35-24 lead with 6:55 on the clock. Saint Michael's briefly trimmed its deficit to single digits, but the Warriors answered back with an 11-0 run that featured one 3-pointer each from senior Troy McLaughlin and sophomore Devin Jensen. The Warriors owned a 46-26 advantage at the end of the run with 4:26 left until halftime
- Senior Ryan Boulter hit a trey and Hayes notched the final four points of the half for Merrimack as the team took a 58-37 advantage to the locker room. Merrimack missed just nine shots (20-29) in the first half
- Junior Jaleel Lord scored five points over the first four minutes of the second stanza, bringing his game total to 17 and ballooning Merrimack's lead to 28 points. The Warriors saw their lead reach 30, 72-42, with 15 minutes left in the game
- Merrimack's lead hovered around 20 points past the midway point of the half, as Lord sank a three-ball to reach 20 points for the night with 10:14 on the clock, making it an 81-60 contest. Consecutive treys for Boulter and Jensen increased Merrimack's advantage to 29, 94-65, with 5:57 to go. Freshman Justin Connolly hit the bucket that saw the visitors surpass the century mark with 3:38 to play
Notes and Numbers
- The 2018-19 Warriors became the first Merrimack team to finish the regular season with 19 wins since the 2009-10 edition of the Warriors. That team was the third of three straight Merrimack programs to reach the NCAA Tournament
- The 16 triples marked the second most for the Warriors in the last three years, falling one shot of the team high under Gallo
- Merrimack's 60.0 field-goal percentage did set a new team record during Gallo's tenure
- Five Warriors finished in double figures, led by 20-point efforts for both Boulter (21) and Lord (20). The duo combined for 11 of the team's 16 3-pointers, and Boulter increased his NE10 lead to 91 treys
- Freshman Mikey Watkins scored 17 points off the bench, shooting 7-of-9 from the field. He hit all five of his attempts in the first half. Sophomore Khalief Crawford added 13 points. Connolly totaled eight points, five rebounds and three steals in his first-ever start
- Hayes finished the night with 14 points and a season-high 13 assists, his seventh double-double of the season and second straight. He also added six rebounds and five steals
Up Next
Merrimack will host the NE10 Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon a 3 p.m. from Hammel Court as the second seed from the Northeast Division. The Warriors will face third-seeded Adelphi University from the Southwest Division.
