Hammel Leads Men's Basketball to 91-84 Victory at Stonehill Tuesday
Links: Box Score | Troy Hammel Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team opened up a 20-point first-half lead on Tuesday night against Stonehill and never trailed the entire game as the Warriors held on for a 91-84 victory over the No. 3 team in the region according to the latest D2SIDA East Region Media Poll
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 91, Stonehill 84
Records: Merrimack (13-10, 8-9 NE-10) | Stonehill (17-6, 12-5 NE-10)
Location: Merkert Gymnasium | Easton, Mass.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top five teams in the Northeast Division advance to the NE-10 Championship, with the fifth seed playing the fourth seed out of the Southwest in the opening round. The Warriors trail Franklin Pierce by two games in the standings, with a matchup with the Ravens still remaining this season.
1) Bentley (13-3)
2) Saint Anselm (12-4)
3) Stonehill (12-5)
4) Southern New Hampshire (11-5)
5) Franklin Pierce (10-7)
6) Merrimack (8-9)
7) Saint Michael's (3-14)
8) Assumption (2-14)
How It Happened
Merrimack started the game on a 12-0 run, forcing the Skyhawks to burn a timeout just three minutes into the first half. Four different players scored for the Warriors during the spurt, including the last four from forward Anthony Barry (Uxbridge, Mass.). Stonehill responded with six unanswered, but the Warriors countered with an 8-0 spurt to make it 20-6 at the 13:00 mark.
From that point, Merrimack drained four three-pointers over the next four minutes to open a 36-16 advantage with nine minutes to play in the half. Stonehill made it 15-point game, 38-23, following a three-pointer from Joel Berroa that caused the Warriors to used their first timeout with 6:49 remaining.
Consecutive three-pointers from Carter Smith and Piece Cumpstone cut the Warriors advantage to 11, 44-33, with four minutes remaining in the half. With the Warriors lead down to 10, Merrimack scored four of the half's final five points to make it 51-38 entering intermission. Senior guards Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.) and Gelvis Solano (Harlem, N.Y.) combined for 25 of Merrimack's 51 points.
The Warriors only scored four points over the first five minutes of the second, allowing the Skyhawks to come within eight, 55-47, following a triple from Smith. The Warriors pushed their lead back to double figures following back-to-back lay-ins from JT Strickland (Laurel, Md.), making it 61-49 Merrimack with 11:22 remaining. Four minutes later, the Warriors saw another 16-point lead dwindle to ten following a triple from Adam Bramanti.
Bramanti's triple with 5:00 to play brought the lead down to single digits, 75-66. The Stonehill sharpshooter struck again with under three minutes to play to make it 77-69, but Hammel answered with a trey of his own and Merrimack led by 11, 80-69, with 2:08 remaining. The Skyhawks traded a layup from Strickland with a triple from Cumpstone to make it 82-74 with 90 seconds on the clock.
After two free throws from Hammel, Ryan Logan knocked down a straightaway three, cutting the Warriors lead to 85-79 with 47 seconds to play. Hammel hit two more free throws, but Smith responded with his fifth trey of the night and the score read 89-84 with 12 seconds to play. Hammel hit two more and the Warriors hung on for the 91-84 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Hammel led all scorers with 28 points, making all 10 of his free throws. The senior went into the game holding the program record for career free-throw percentage and leads the team this year by shooting 89 percent from the line
- Strickland finished with 21 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the field, seven of which were two-point field goals
- Solano contributed 17 points. He now needs 12 more to become the sixth player in program history to score 2,000 career points
- For the second straight day, the Warriors attack featured five players in double figures. Additionally, junior forward Riley Calzonetti (Neptune City, N.J.) played in the most minutes of the conference season, giving the Warriors quality depth off the bench
- Merrimack's 51 first-half points marked the third time this season the Warriors have eclipsed 50 over the first 20 minutes this season, falling six points shy of their season high of 57 set against Concordia
Up Next
The Warriors return home on Saturday when Merrimack hosts Southern New Hampshire at 1 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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