Mar 13, 2009

Eagle Tribune: Merrimack facing familiar foe

NCAA men's basketball preview: Merrimack facing familiar foe

By Mike McMahon
mmcmahon@eagletribune.com

NORTH ANDOVER — It was a long week for Merrimack basketball head coach Bert Hammel.

Last Tuesday, the Warriors (20-8) fell to Assumption in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 tournament. For the next five days, the Warriors practiced and prepared without assurance that their name would be called when the NCAA Division 2 pairings were announced.

Sunday, the Warriors were finally able to breathe easily as one of the 64 participants. They were selected as the sixth seed in the Northeast Regional (taking place in Long Island at C.W. Post). They'll battle NE-10 rival UMass Lowell (21-7, third seed) Saturday at noon.

"I was confident that we would be recognized and make it in, but I won't lie, I was walking on pins and needles all week," said Hammel, who resides in Methuen with his wife, Andover native Jill Kennedy Hammel, and three children.

"I think ultimately the committee recognized that we had a good record with a really tough schedule. Obviously the NE-10 provides quite the challenge and gives us a strong schedule. Then we also went down to Bridgeport at the Christmas Tournament and beat them by 21 points, and they're an NCAA team. So I think that played a role in our selection."

In Hammel's 29 seasons at the helm, this will mark his fifth NCAA appearance and second straight. Star guards Darren Duncan (19.2 points per game) and Dee Mency (16.5 points per game) both return from last year's tournament squad that lost to Bentley in the first round. The Warriors led the Falcons by 12 points at halftime but were outscored by 25 points in the second half by a Bentley squad that was undefeated entering the tournament.

"We're a more mature team," Hammel said. "I think we had a lot of wide-eyed moments last year. Between the banquet and everything that is involved with playing in the tournament, I think we had a lot of guys who were just in awe. Now, we've been there.

"I remember back to that Bentley loss last year and our locker room wasn't just happy to be there and make it a game, we had a locker room full of ticked off guys. Our guys knew we could beat that team. This year we're seeded a little higher, we're not trying to be a Cinderella story. We have to go out and play a team that we know very well and they know us very well."

This year's team is also deeper. Freshman guards Wayne Mack (10.9 points per game) and Roland Davis (10.9 points per game) provide a spark off the bench that the Warriors didn't have last season.

Their strength is a sharp-shooting backcourt. Merrimack doesn't have a regular player taller than 6-foot-7 (6-foot-11 freshman Juan Carlos Rosich, a freshman from Costa Rica, has only played in three games), but have four guards who total 57.5 points per game.

Chris Winters, at 6-7, has 21 starts on the year and leads the Warriors with 6.2 rebounds.

The Warriors defeated the River Hawks 85-79 back in November, but UML downed Merrimack 77-72 at a packed Volpe Center in January.

The River Hawks, who are coached by ex-Merrimack point guard Greg Herenda, are led by Victor Colon (14.0 ppg) and Kyle Caloia (13.9 ppg).


Cross Country (M) Cross Country (W) Field Hockey Football Soccer (M) Soccer (W) Volleyball Basketball (M) Basketball (W) Ice Hockey Baseball Lacrosse (M) Lacrosse (W) Softball Tennis (M) Tennis (W) Lawler Completion Project Athletic Staff Directory Blue Line Club Cheerleading Compliance Composite Calendar Directions Facilities From the AD's Desk Intramurals Marketing & Promotions Merrimack Championships Quick Facts Recruiting Questionnaires SAAC SID Downloads Sponsorship Sports Medicine Strength and Conditioning Visitors Guide	Home \| Roster \| 2009-10 Schedule \| Standings \| Statistics \| News \| Coaches \| 2009 Golf Tournament Info \| Record Book \| Watch Home Games Live \| Archives \| All-Time Results [Printer Friendly] Mar 13, 2009 Eagle Tribune: Merrimack facing familiar foe NCAA men's basketball preview: Merrimack facing familiar foe By Mike McMahon mmcmahon@eagletribune.com NORTH ANDOVER — It was a long week for Merrimack basketball head coach Bert Hammel. Last Tuesday, the Warriors (20-8) fell to Assumption in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 tournament. For the next five days, the Warriors practiced and prepared without assurance that their name would be called when the NCAA Division 2 pairings were announced. Sunday, the Warriors were finally able to breathe easily as one of the 64 participants. They were selected as the sixth seed in the Northeast Regional (taking place in Long Island at C.W. Post). They'll battle NE-10 rival UMass Lowell (21-7, third seed) Saturday at noon. "I was confident that we would be recognized and make it in, but I won't lie, I was walking on pins and needles all week," said Hammel, who resides in Methuen with his wife, Andover native Jill Kennedy Hammel, and three children. "I think ultimately the committee recognized that we had a good record with a really tough schedule. Obviously the NE-10 provides quite the challenge and gives us a strong schedule. Then we also went down to Bridgeport at the Christmas Tournament and beat them by 21 points, and they're an NCAA team. So I think that played a role in our selection." In Hammel's 29 seasons at the helm, this will mark his fifth NCAA appearance and second straight. Star guards Darren Duncan (19.2 points per game) and Dee Mency (16.5 points per game) both return from last year's tournament squad that lost to Bentley in the first round. The Warriors led the Falcons by 12 points at halftime but were outscored by 25 points in the second half by a Bentley squad that was undefeated entering the tournament. "We're a more mature team," Hammel said. "I think we had a lot of wide-eyed moments last year. Between the banquet and everything that is involved with playing in the tournament, I think we had a lot of guys who were just in awe. Now, we've been there. "I remember back to that Bentley loss last year and our locker room wasn't just happy to be there and make it a game, we had a locker room full of ticked off guys. Our guys knew we could beat that team. This year we're seeded a little higher, we're not trying to be a Cinderella story. We have to go out and play a team that we know very well and they know us very well." This year's team is also deeper. Freshman guards Wayne Mack (10.9 points per game) and Roland Davis (10.9 points per game) provide a spark off the bench that the Warriors didn't have last season. Their strength is a sharp-shooting backcourt. Merrimack doesn't have a regular player taller than 6-foot-7 (6-foot-11 freshman Juan Carlos Rosich, a freshman from Costa Rica, has only played in three games), but have four guards who total 57.5 points per game. Chris Winters, at 6-7, has 21 starts on the year and leads the Warriors with 6.2 rebounds. The Warriors defeated the River Hawks 85-79 back in November, but UML downed Merrimack 77-72 at a packed Volpe Center in January. The River Hawks, who are coached by ex-Merrimack point guard Greg Herenda, are led by Victor Colon (14.0 ppg) and Kyle Caloia (13.9 ppg).