NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Despite a 22-7 run to end regulation
including five points in the final two seconds, the Merrimack
men’s basketball team’s late rally was erased in
overtime as American International prevailed 76-74 in a
non-conference game Monday night at the Volpe Gym.
Trailing 67-62 with two seconds to play, Darren Duncan
(Briarwood, NY) sank a three from well beyond the arc to
cut the Yellow Jacket lead to two. On the ensuing inbounds pass,
Wayne Mack (Paterson, NJ) stole it and tossed it
right to Darin Mency (Hagerstown, MD) who barely
beat the buzzer, sending the crowd into pandemonium and the game
into overtime.
But in the extra frame, with the game tied at 74 with six seconds
to play, Adrian Hynes-Guery drove to the hoop and got his shot to
fall to give the Yellow Jackets the 76-74 lead. Duncan’s
three at the buzzer went in and out, and AIC escaped with the
two-point victory.
The Warriors were sluggish early as the Yellow Jackets took a 34-23
lead into the locker room at halftime. Merrimack turned the ball
over an uncharacteristically 11 times as the Yellow Jackets led by
as much as 13 at 32-19 after Aikeem Vanderhorst scored off a post
play with 1:20 remaining in the half. Isiah Wallace came off the
bench and scored 10 first-half points. Mency led the hosts with
seven points while David Kennedy (East Northport,
NY) grabbed seven rebounds. The Warriors shot 38.5% from
the field but made just two of 15 three-point attempts.
The Yellow Jackets used a 9-2 run to start the second half, taking
a 43-25 lead, but Merrimack never quit. They used a 10-2 run over
the next two minutes capped off with a post shot from Jared
Brownlee (Portland, ME) to cut the lead to ten at 45-35
with 13:55 to play. With time winding down and with three freshmen
in the lineup, the Warriors used an 11-1 run capped with a three
from Mack to the cut the lead to five at 61-56 with 2:49 to play in
the second half. The teams traded points over the next two minutes,
before the Warriors late five-point spurt to force overtime.
In overtime, Merrimack grabbed the lead 10 seconds in as Duncan
found Aaron Strothers (Wareham, MA) down low.
Strothers’ basket gave Merrimack its first lead since the
3:28 mark of the first half. But the lead was short lived as the
Yellow Jackets scored nine of the final 14 points to improve to a
10-6 overall.
After scoring just three first-half points, Duncan led the Warriors
with 18 points and added four assists. Mency and Mack tallied 15
each, while Chris Winters (East Lyme, CT) added
ten. Brownlee posted four blocks and six rebounds off the bench.
Merrimack forced 16 turnovers in the final 25 minutes of the game
but was outrebounded in the game 50-36.
Vanderhorst led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points and 10 boards,
while Hynes-Guery also tallied a double-double on 11 points and 10
rebounds. Wallace finished with 18 points and 11 boards off the
bench.
Merrimack (11-3, 7-2 NE-10) visits rival Saint Anselm Wednesday
night at 7:30 p.m. for a matchup with the Hawks (10-3, 6-3 NE-10).