Mar 15, 2009

Men's Basketball Battles Again with Bentley with Regional Final Berth on the Line

MERRIMACK MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Game #30 vs. #2 Bentley University, Sunday March 15, 2009, 5 p.m., Brookville, New York

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MERRIMACK MEN’S BASKETBALL HEADS TO REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AFTER THRILLING OVERTIME WIN OVER LOWELL

TODAY’S GAME: After a thrilling 86-84 overtime victory over Lowell in the quarterfinals Saturday, Merrimack looks to advance to the regional finals for the first time since 1976-77 when it battles with rival Bentley Sunday.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S WIN: Behind double-doubles and 25 points each from Darren Duncan and Darin Mency, Merrimack defeated third-ranked UMass Lowell 86-84. With the game tied at 84 with 13 seconds to play in overtime, Duncan found Aaron Strothers down low who hit a lay-up, his only basket of the game in his only attempt, to put the Warriors ahead by two. Lowell had the last shot but Kevin Carr’s three-pointer went off the back rim, and Merrimack prevailed with its first tournament win since 2000. The teams went back and forth as the end of regulation neared, with Merrimack leading 75-72 after a free throw from Duncan. But Kyle Caiola tied it up with 40 seconds left as he hit a lay-up, was fouled, and hit the free throw. Mency missed a three with two seconds remaining, and a midcourt shot from Lowell was well wide at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime. Neither team lead by more than eight points, coupled with 17 lead changes and eight tie scores,

LIFETIME AGAINST BENTLEY: Merrimack is 33-43 lifetime against Bentley and 0-1 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament. Bentley has won the last 11 meetings, including last season in the NCAA Tournament.

THIS SEASON VS. BENTLEY: The Warriors were swept this season by Bentley.
January 6 @ MC: BEN 91, MC 68: Foul trouble and poor shooting doomed the Warriors in a 91-68 loss at the Volpe Gym. Dee Mency finished with a game-high 25 points in 29 minutes, while Darren Duncan added 16 points and eight assists but was 5-for-17 from the field. Merrimack finished 6-for-31 from behind the arc and 23-for-69 overall from the field.
January 31 @ BEN: BEN 86, MC 79: Duncan scored 23 points and added nine assists, but Merrimack was edged by Bentley 86-79. Bentley used an 8-0 run with Jason Westrol scoring seven points in the final 2:50 to put the game away. The Falcons scored 10 of the final 12 points in the game.

MERRIMACK IN THE NCAAS: This will be the seventh NCAA appearance, fifth under Coach Hammel and the second straight trip to the tournament. Merrimack is 6-6 in the NCAAs after Saturday’s win.
1976-77: The Warriors reached the NCAA regional final before losing to Sacred Heart 110-104. They defeated Bridgeport 107-83 in the first round.
1977-78: One of the best teams in school history, the Warriors were 23-6 and lost in the regional finals after beating Bryant 116-91.
1990-91: After losing to Bentley in the NE-10 Championship, Merrimack, which was 21-9 that season, reached the NCAA tournament, losing to Franklin Pierce 81-77 in Worcester. Merrimack then downed Assumption 89-71 in the consolation game.
1991-92: Merrimack’s first Northeast-10 Conference Championship propelled the Warriors to the NCAA tournament before losing to Bridgeport 91-84 but defeated Assumption 105-84 in the consolation game.
1999-00: Winning the NE-10 Conference Championship with a 84-78 victory over AIC, the Warriors defeated Saint Rose in the first round of the NCAA tournament 92-64 before losing to Adelphi 90-64 in the second round.
2007-08: Merrimack returned to the NCAA tournament as the eighth seed and lost to top-ranked and unbeaten Bentley 81-68 despite 25 from Duncan and leading by 12 at halftime.

DUNCAN FOR COUSY: Junior captain Darren Duncan is a finalist for the prestigious Bob Cousy Award given to the top collegiate male basketball point guard in the country. Duncan is one of 16 finalists, and one of two players from Division II, to be named as a finalist. Twelve of the 16 finalists are from Division I while two each are from Division II and III. Joining Duncan on the final ballot from Division II is Virgil Buensuceso of BYU Hawaii.

DUNCAN A FIRST-TEAM DAKTRONICS SELECTION: Darren Duncan was selected as a first-team all-region selection by Daktronics Wednesday.

WARRIORS PLACE THREE ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Darren Duncan was a first-team all-conference selection, while Dee Mency (second team) and Wayne Mack (rookie team) also were all-conference honorees. Duncan was a first-team honoree last year and the NE-10 Freshman of the Year in 2006-07. Mency was the Freshman of the Year in 2007-08. Incredibly, the Warriors did not have a Northeast-10 Player or Freshman of the Week all season.

SCORING BY CLASS: Nearly 87% of Merrimack’s scoring will return next season as the class of 2009, David Kennedy and Chris Winters, averages 10.7 points per game. The four-member junior class has accounted for 35.6% of the scoring while the five-member freshman class averages 32.6% of the offense. Dee Mency is the lone sophomore.

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: The Warriors set a school record with 16 conference wins, breaking the old mark of 14 set in the 1990-91 season.

20 WINS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT: Their 20th win on February 24 vs. New Haven was the first time they achieved that plateau before the playoffs since the 1998-99 team accomplished the task.

HISTORIC START: Merrimack started 9-1 for the first time in school history. The Warriors never before won nine games before New Year’s.

HISTORIC WIN: The 39-point win over Franklin Pierce on Feb. 10 was Merrimack's largest margin of victory ever in a Northeast-10 game. The previous high mark was a 36-point (93-57) victory over Quinnipiac on November 30, 1998. Including non-league games, it was Merrimack's largest margin of victory since it posted a 40-point win (101-61) at Felician on December 21, 2004.

DUNCAN SETS SCHOOL FREE THROW RECORDS: Earlier this season, Darren Duncan overtook Paul Neal’s school-record season and career free throw marks. Duncan, who was 212-for-266 from the line this year, eclipsed Neal’s season record of 199-for-244 set in 1988-89. Duncan, who is 514-for-666 career from the line, broke Neal’s career marks of 507 made and 659 attempted against Assumption in the Northeast-10 quarterfinals. The Northeast-10 career free throw standards are 642 free throws made and 901 attempted, both held by Assumption's Drew Adderly.

DUNCAN REACHES 1,000: Junior captain Darren Duncan became the 35th member of Merrimack’s 1,000 point club on November 24 against Southern New Hampshire. He enters tonight’s game with 1444 career points, 13th on the Merrimack scoring list.

MENCY HITS 1,000 ON SATURDAY: Sophomore Dee Mency, last year’s Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year, joined Duncan in the 1,000 point club after scoring 25 points against Lowell on Saturday, becoming the 36th member of the 1,000 point club at Merrimack. Mency sits at exactly 1,000 points entering Sunday’s game.

MORE DUNCAN: Duncan leads the Northeast-10 in per game average for scoring (19.2), assists (7.6) free throws attempted (266) and free throws made (212). He is tied for first in steals (2.2), second in assist-turnover ratio (2.0), third in free throw percentage (79.7%), and minutes played (35.4). Duncan is second in the nation is assists per game and 35th in scoring and steals.

ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL: Merrimack is second in the nation (in Division II) in turnover margin, at 6.6 (national leader - Mars Hill at 6.7).

EXCELLENT FRESHMEN TRIO: Merrimack’s trio of Wayne Mack (10.9 ppg), Roland Davis (10.9 ppg) and Aaron Strothers (3.7 ppg) are averaging 25.5 points per game, 31.6% of the Warriors’ total points this season.

BIG SCORERS: Merrimack averages 80.8 points per game, first in the Northeast-10 for the second straight year. The Warriors are second in the conference in free throw percentage (72.6%). Merrimack is 15-0 when it scores over 80 points this season.

NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: Merrimack, seeded fourth in the Northeast-10 championship, lost to the eventual conference champion #5 Assumption 83-77 in the quarterfinals. The top four seeds, Bentley, Lowell, Stonehill and Merrimack, all lost in the quarters, marking the first time that the top four seeds went down in the quarters in the 29-year history of the NE-10 Tournament. Assumption defeated #9 Saint Anselm in the semis, while #6 Le Moyne downed #7 Southern N.H., before Assumption defeated Le Moyne in the finals to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

MERRIMACK HEAD COACH BERT HAMMEL: Now in his 29th year, Warriors’ head coach Bert Hammel is 428-398 all-time. He won his 400th game on January 22, 2008 with a win at St. Anselm. He has brought Merrimack to the NCAA tourney five times, including the last two season. Hammel is a 1973 graduate of Bentley College.

PRESEASON POLL: Merrimack was picked second in the Northeast-10 preseason poll behind two-time defending champion Bentley University.


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RECAPPING SATURDAY’S WIN: Behind double-doubles and 25 points each from Darren Duncan and Darin Mency, Merrimack defeated third-ranked UMass Lowell 86-84. With the game tied at 84 with 13 seconds to play in overtime, Duncan found Aaron Strothers down low who hit a lay-up, his only basket of the game in his only attempt, to put the Warriors ahead by two. Lowell had the last shot but Kevin Carr’s three-pointer went off the back rim, and Merrimack prevailed with its first tournament win since 2000. The teams went back and forth as the end of regulation neared, with Merrimack leading 75-72 after a free throw from Duncan. But Kyle Caiola tied it up with 40 seconds left as he hit a lay-up, was fouled, and hit the free throw. Mency missed a three with two seconds remaining, and a midcourt shot from Lowell was well wide at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime. Neither team lead by more than eight points, coupled with 17 lead changes and eight tie scores, LIFETIME AGAINST BENTLEY: Merrimack is 33-43 lifetime against Bentley and 0-1 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament. Bentley has won the last 11 meetings, including last season in the NCAA Tournament. THIS SEASON VS. BENTLEY: The Warriors were swept this season by Bentley. January 6 @ MC: BEN 91, MC 68: Foul trouble and poor shooting doomed the Warriors in a 91-68 loss at the Volpe Gym. Dee Mency finished with a game-high 25 points in 29 minutes, while Darren Duncan added 16 points and eight assists but was 5-for-17 from the field. Merrimack finished 6-for-31 from behind the arc and 23-for-69 overall from the field. January 31 @ BEN: BEN 86, MC 79: Duncan scored 23 points and added nine assists, but Merrimack was edged by Bentley 86-79. Bentley used an 8-0 run with Jason Westrol scoring seven points in the final 2:50 to put the game away. The Falcons scored 10 of the final 12 points in the game. MERRIMACK IN THE NCAAS: This will be the seventh NCAA appearance, fifth under Coach Hammel and the second straight trip to the tournament. Merrimack is 6-6 in the NCAAs after Saturday’s win. 1976-77: The Warriors reached the NCAA regional final before losing to Sacred Heart 110-104. They defeated Bridgeport 107-83 in the first round. 1977-78: One of the best teams in school history, the Warriors were 23-6 and lost in the regional finals after beating Bryant 116-91. 1990-91: After losing to Bentley in the NE-10 Championship, Merrimack, which was 21-9 that season, reached the NCAA tournament, losing to Franklin Pierce 81-77 in Worcester. Merrimack then downed Assumption 89-71 in the consolation game. 1991-92: Merrimack’s first Northeast-10 Conference Championship propelled the Warriors to the NCAA tournament before losing to Bridgeport 91-84 but defeated Assumption 105-84 in the consolation game. 1999-00: Winning the NE-10 Conference Championship with a 84-78 victory over AIC, the Warriors defeated Saint Rose in the first round of the NCAA tournament 92-64 before losing to Adelphi 90-64 in the second round. 2007-08: Merrimack returned to the NCAA tournament as the eighth seed and lost to top-ranked and unbeaten Bentley 81-68 despite 25 from Duncan and leading by 12 at halftime. DUNCAN FOR COUSY: Junior captain Darren Duncan is a finalist for the prestigious Bob Cousy Award given to the top collegiate male basketball point guard in the country. Duncan is one of 16 finalists, and one of two players from Division II, to be named as a finalist. Twelve of the 16 finalists are from Division I while two each are from Division II and III. Joining Duncan on the final ballot from Division II is Virgil Buensuceso of BYU Hawaii. DUNCAN A FIRST-TEAM DAKTRONICS SELECTION: Darren Duncan was selected as a first-team all-region selection by Daktronics Wednesday. WARRIORS PLACE THREE ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Darren Duncan was a first-team all-conference selection, while Dee Mency (second team) and Wayne Mack (rookie team) also were all-conference honorees. Duncan was a first-team honoree last year and the NE-10 Freshman of the Year in 2006-07. Mency was the Freshman of the Year in 2007-08. Incredibly, the Warriors did not have a Northeast-10 Player or Freshman of the Week all season. SCORING BY CLASS: Nearly 87% of Merrimack’s scoring will return next season as the class of 2009, David Kennedy and Chris Winters, averages 10.7 points per game. The four-member junior class has accounted for 35.6% of the scoring while the five-member freshman class averages 32.6% of the offense. Dee Mency is the lone sophomore. FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: The Warriors set a school record with 16 conference wins, breaking the old mark of 14 set in the 1990-91 season. 20 WINS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT: Their 20th win on February 24 vs. New Haven was the first time they achieved that plateau before the playoffs since the 1998-99 team accomplished the task. HISTORIC START: Merrimack started 9-1 for the first time in school history. The Warriors never before won nine games before New Year’s. HISTORIC WIN: The 39-point win over Franklin Pierce on Feb. 10 was Merrimack's largest margin of victory ever in a Northeast-10 game. The previous high mark was a 36-point (93-57) victory over Quinnipiac on November 30, 1998. Including non-league games, it was Merrimack's largest margin of victory since it posted a 40-point win (101-61) at Felician on December 21, 2004. DUNCAN SETS SCHOOL FREE THROW RECORDS: Earlier this season, Darren Duncan overtook Paul Neal’s school-record season and career free throw marks. Duncan, who was 212-for-266 from the line this year, eclipsed Neal’s season record of 199-for-244 set in 1988-89. Duncan, who is 514-for-666 career from the line, broke Neal’s career marks of 507 made and 659 attempted against Assumption in the Northeast-10 quarterfinals. The Northeast-10 career free throw standards are 642 free throws made and 901 attempted, both held by Assumption's Drew Adderly. DUNCAN REACHES 1,000: Junior captain Darren Duncan became the 35th member of Merrimack’s 1,000 point club on November 24 against Southern New Hampshire. He enters tonight’s game with 1444 career points, 13th on the Merrimack scoring list. MENCY HITS 1,000 ON SATURDAY: Sophomore Dee Mency, last year’s Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year, joined Duncan in the 1,000 point club after scoring 25 points against Lowell on Saturday, becoming the 36th member of the 1,000 point club at Merrimack. Mency sits at exactly 1,000 points entering Sunday’s game. MORE DUNCAN: Duncan leads the Northeast-10 in per game average for scoring (19.2), assists (7.6) free throws attempted (266) and free throws made (212). He is tied for first in steals (2.2), second in assist-turnover ratio (2.0), third in free throw percentage (79.7%), and minutes played (35.4). Duncan is second in the nation is assists per game and 35th in scoring and steals. ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL: Merrimack is second in the nation (in Division II) in turnover margin, at 6.6 (national leader - Mars Hill at 6.7). EXCELLENT FRESHMEN TRIO: Merrimack’s trio of Wayne Mack (10.9 ppg), Roland Davis (10.9 ppg) and Aaron Strothers (3.7 ppg) are averaging 25.5 points per game, 31.6% of the Warriors’ total points this season. BIG SCORERS: Merrimack averages 80.8 points per game, first in the Northeast-10 for the second straight year. The Warriors are second in the conference in free throw percentage (72.6%). Merrimack is 15-0 when it scores over 80 points this season. NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: Merrimack, seeded fourth in the Northeast-10 championship, lost to the eventual conference champion #5 Assumption 83-77 in the quarterfinals. The top four seeds, Bentley, Lowell, Stonehill and Merrimack, all lost in the quarters, marking the first time that the top four seeds went down in the quarters in the 29-year history of the NE-10 Tournament. Assumption defeated #9 Saint Anselm in the semis, while #6 Le Moyne downed #7 Southern N.H., before Assumption defeated Le Moyne in the finals to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. MERRIMACK HEAD COACH BERT HAMMEL: Now in his 29th year, Warriors’ head coach Bert Hammel is 428-398 all-time. He won his 400th game on January 22, 2008 with a win at St. Anselm. He has brought Merrimack to the NCAA tourney five times, including the last two season. Hammel is a 1973 graduate of Bentley College. PRESEASON POLL: Merrimack was picked second in the Northeast-10 preseason poll behind two-time defending champion Bentley University.