Nov 22, 2008
Men’s Basketball Escapes with Fourth Straight Win; 85-79 over Lowell
LOWELL, MA – What seemed to be a comfortable lead for the
men’s basketball team with nine minutes remaining turned into
a down-to-the-wire affair that saw the Warriors survive with an
85-79 win over UMass Lowell, at the Costello Gym on Saturday.
Freshman Roland Davis came off the bench to score
20 points. Junior captain Darren Duncan scored 18
and senior Chris Winters had 16. Rounding out
Merrimack's double-figure scorers were Wayne Mack
(11) and Dee Mency (10).
The Warriors (4-0, 2-0 NE-10) led by 17 (69-52) with 9:23 to play
before the River Hawks (3-1, 1-1) stormed back with an 18-1 run to
tie the game at 70 with 4:19 to play.
Merrimack responded with a Winters offensive tip in with 3:59 to
play, giving the Warriors the lead (72-70) that they would not
relinquish. UMass Lowell came back to pull to within one three
times, but could not tie or take the lead. Merrimack outscored
UMass Lowell 8-3 in the final two minutes to earn the win.
Winters had three key offensive rebound baskets in the final 3:09.
Duncan, who will enter Monday’s game 13 points shy of 1,000
career, fouled out with 5:27 to play.
UMass Lowell was led by Sean Romsek, who had 13 points. Craig
Heatherly and Kevin Carr each had 11.
Merrimack owned a 43-34 halftime lead thanks to 12 points from
Davis, who drained three long-range shots. A 7-0 run late in the
first half broke open a close game into a 10-point Warrior lead.
Mency had four points during the spurt and senior David
Kennedy knocked down a 3-pointer.
The Warriors led by as much as 12 (41-29) in the first half and
reached that level when Davis finished with his third 3-pointer of
the half.
Merrimack returns to action on Monday with a 7:30 p.m. meeting at
home against Southern New Hampshire University.
