Recap | Boxscore

Feb 24, 2009

Men’s Basketball Clinches First Round Bye with 74-63 Win over New Haven

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Merrimack men’s basketball team overcame an 11-point second half deficit to rally for the 74-63 win over New Haven Tuesday night to clinch a first-round bye in the Northeast-10 Tournament.

Merrimack (20-7, 16-6 NE-10) finishes fourth in the Northeast-10 and will be one of four teams to get a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. The Warriors will host a quarterfinal game Monday night at the Volpe Gym against the winner of fifth-ranked Assumption and 12th-ranked Pace on Saturday.

With Darren Duncan (Briarwood, NY) on the bench with four fouls, and Merrimack trailing 46-36 with 14:26 to play, the Warriors rallied, using a 13-2 run to grab the 49-48 lead after a pair of free throws from Roland Davis (Deer Park, NY). By the time Duncan reentered with 6:50 to play, the Warriors led 54-52 and had scored 18 of the last 24 points.

They took charge from there closing the game with a 20-11 run, which featured consecutive three-pointers from Dee Mency (Hagerstown, MD) and Davis. Duncan sealed it late, going 8-for-8 from the line, including two as a result of a Charger technical foul.

The Warriors struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 29.3% from the field and 15.8% from behind the arc and trailed 38-31 at half to the upstart Chargers. Led by 14 points from D.J. Sackmann and 12 from Cassius Chaney, New Haven used a 17-2 run late in the half to take the seven-point advantage into the locker room despite committing 17 turnovers.

Four Warriors were in double figures, including Mency who had a team-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting in 39 minutes. Davis added 15 to go with five assists, while Craig Woehnker (Colts Neck, NJ) added 13 off the bench. Duncan finished with 10 points and five assists in 30 minutes. With Duncan in foul trouble, Wayne Mack (Paterson, NJ) ran the offense and finished with eight points, six assists and five steals.

Sackman led all scorers with 23 points but committed six turnovers, while Chaney posted a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Chargers committed 27 turnovers, resulting in 27 Warrior points, but outrebounded Merrimack 44-33.

Before the game, the Warriors honored seniors Dave Kennedy (East Northport, NY) and Chris Winters (East Lyme, CT) as part of Senior Night.


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