NORTH ANDOVER, MA. – The Merrimack men’s basketball
team used a 28-2 run in the second half to pull away from the
College of Saint Rose 83-66 Tuesday night at the Volpe Gym.
With the win, the Warriors (14-3, 10-2 NE-10) remain tied for
first place with 13th-ranked Stonehill, who defeated Pace 59-56
Tuesday night. The Warriors and Skyhawks will meet Saturday
afternoon in a first-place showdown at the Volpe Gym at 3 p.m.
Merrimack trailed 57-50 when the run began with threes from
Craig Woehnker (Colts Neck, NJ), Dee Mency
(Hagerstown, MD), and Darren Duncan (Briarwood,
NY) jumpstarting the run as Woehnker’s three put the
Warriors ahead 60-57. A pretty pass from Duncan to Mency put the
game away as Mency caught Duncan’s pass in midair and dunked
it in one motion to extend the lead to thirteen. Less than a minute
later, Duncan found Woehnker and Mency seconds apart for easy
baskets, with Mency’s lay-in marking the 13th assist for
Duncan, tying a career high.
Mency tallied 21, leading the Warriors in scoring, with five of
his baskets from behind the arc. He was joined in double figures by
three teammates, Roland Davis (Deer Park, NY) (19
points), Duncan (15 points) and Wayne Mack (Paterson,
NJ) (12 points). Duncan posted his third double-double on
the season and added six steals. The hosts shot 53% from the field
in the second half and 52.6% from behind the arc, converting on
10-of-19 three-point attempts.
Merrimack started slowly, trailing 30-18 with 2:39 remaining in
the first half after Jermaine Clark sank three straight from behind
the arc. But the Warriors responded late, using a 17-4 run to close
the half, capped off with an incredible three from Duncan who sank
a deep three as the buzzer sounded and was fouled. Duncan’s
three tied the game, while his free throw gave the Warriors their
first lead since two minutes into the game.
Clark scored 16 of the Golden Knight’s 34 first-half points,
as the visitors shot 52% from the field and made six-of-seven
threes, led by four from Clark. The Warriors struggled offensively
in the first half, shooting just 33% and 22% from three-point range
and at one point went seven minutes without a field goal before
Davis hit a jumper with 2:39 to play in the first half.
Clark finished with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but neither he
nor his team made a three in the second half. The Golden Knights
committed 11 second-half turnovers and were outscored 48-32 in the
final half.