Men’s Basketball Welcomes Adelphi to Hammel for NE10 Quarterfinal Showdown Sunday

Matchup	Merrimack (19-9) vs. Adelphi (19-9) NE10 Championship Quarterfinals
Date/Time	Friday, March 1, 2019 // 3:00 p.m. (Tickets)
Venue	Hammel Court // North Andover, Mass.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The second-seeded Merrimack College men's basketball program out of the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division will host the NE10 Quarterfinals for the second straight year on Sunday when the Warriors welcome third-seeded Adelphi University to Hammel Court for a 3 p.m. tip-off. 

Both Merrimack and Adelphi both enter Sunday's contest ranked among the top eight in the second edition in the NCAA Division II East Region poll, unveiled by the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee on Wednesday. The Warriors arrived at No. 5 while the Panthers landed at No. 7. The top-eight programs at season's end advance to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Sunday night, March 10.

Promotions:

• Free pizza will be distributed to all students in attendance courtesy of Dominos! Food will be served to all students at the game in the Hall of Fame Lobby located outside of Hammel Court. Pizza is expected to arrive at 2:30 p.m., 30 minutes prior to Sunday's tip-off

2019 NE10 Championship Schedule
First Round ­ Friday, March 1^st:
Game 1:  Pace (No. 5 seed SW) at Franklin Pierce (No. 4 seed NE) – 7:00 PM
Game 2:  Stonehill (No. 5 seed NE) at Southern Connecticut (No. 4 seed SW) – 7:00 PM
 
Quarterfinals ­ Sunday, March 3^rd:
Game 3:  Game 1 winner at Le Moyne (No. 1 seed SW) – 4:00 PM
Game 4:  Game 2 winner at Saint Anselm (No. 1 seed NE) – 3:00 PM
Game 5:  Bentley (No. 3 seed NE) at New Haven (No. 2 seed SW) – 3:00 PM
Game 6:  Adelphi (No. 3 seed SW) at Merrimack (No. 2 seed NE) – 3:00 PM

Semifinals ­ Wednesday, March 6^th (at highest seeds remaining):
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner (7:00 PM)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner (7:00 PM)
 
Championship ­ Saturday, March 9^th (at highest seed remaining):
Game 9:  Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner (1:00 PM)

Five Things to Know:

• Merrimack scored a season-best 104 points in Tuesday's regular season finale at Saint Michael's, notching the program's 19^th win of the regular season. The regular season win total is the most for the program in nearly a decade (2009-10). The Warriors' 14 league wins to end the year also tied the second most in school history
• The Warriors won 14 of their final 19 regular season games after beginning the year 5-5, due in large part to one of the top defenses around. The program ended the regular year leading the NE10 in turnovers forced (17.6), steals per game (9.6) and blocks per game (4.3). The program also ranks second in field-goal percentage defense (.416) and points allowed (66.4)
• Junior point guard Juvaris Hayes ended the season as the NE10's Player of the Week, averaging over 15 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five assists per game over the final three games of the regular season. Hayes' 114 total steals nearly doubles the next closest player for the NE10 lead, while he paces the nation in thefts, as well
• Offensively, Hayes leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points per contest followed by senior Ryan Boulter (14.2 ppg) and junior Jaleel Lord (11.2 ppg). The former leads the conference in 3-pointers made (90), ranking in a tie for 13^th entering the weekend. The duo have hit 161 triples combined, the second most of any pairing in the NE10
• Adelphi also will enter the NE10 Championship as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning nine of its previous 11 contests. That run started after Merrimack handed the Panthers a 13-point defeat in Garden City, N.Y. Adelphi averages the third most points in the NE10, and leads the league in 3-poitners made. The duo of senior Jack Laffey and freshman Ronnie Silva are tied for the team lead at 14.9 points per game, and have each hit 88 and 86 treys, respectively

Regular Season Rewind:

• The Warriors jumped up to a 44-28 halftime team and never looked back en route to a 78-65 victory
• Hayes notched a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, sophomore Khalief Crawford totaled 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep and freshman Mikey Watkins scored 12 points off the bench to lead the offense. The Warriors' defense held Adelphi under 40 percent shooting for the game
• Adelphi's Silva netted 20 points to lead the hosts. Merrimack contained Laffey to eight points, one of six times this season that he's scored less than 10

Scouting the Opposition

Merrimack (19-9)	Stat Category	Adelphi (19-9)
75.0	Points Per Game	81.7
66.4	Points Allowed Per Game	76.8
.463	Field Goal Percentage	.498
.359	Three-Point FG Percentage	.401
31.9	Rebounds Per Game	33.6
Juvaris Hayes (18.5 ppg)	Points Leader	Jack Laffey (14.9 ppg)
Hayes (6.5 rpg)	Rebounds Leader	Nick Cambio (6.4 rpg)
Hayes (6.6 apg)	Assists Leader	Conor McGuinness (6.8 apg)
Hayes (4.1 spg)	Steals Leader	Laffey (1.0 spg)
Joyner (1.7 bpg)	Blocks Leader	Cambio (0.8 bpg)

 
Up Next:
The victor of Sunday's game will advance to the NE10 Semifinals on Wednesday at 7 p.m., playing the victor the top-seeded Le Moyne's quarterfinal matchup. The Dolphins await the victor of Friday's first-round game between Franklin Pierce and Pace. If Merrimack wins and Le Moyne loses Sunday, the Warriors would host the NE10 Semifinals at Hammel Court.