Warriors clinch playoff
spot, Ravens fail to clinch home court
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.
(February 17, 2007) - Merrimack College clinched a playoff
spot and forced Franklin Pierce to wait until the final night of
the regular season to clinch home court in the opening round with a
75-60 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at
the Volpe Center this afternoon.
Senior Kenny Jones
(Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) led four Merrimack
players in double-figures with a game-high 20 points, shooting
7-of-14 from the field to go with a 5-of-7 effort at the free-throw
line, four rebounds and two assists. Junior Gerry Corcoran
(Norwell, Mass./Norwell) added 19 points, shooting 6-7
from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range, to go with
nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in 29 minutes off the
bench.
Freshman Darren Duncan
(Briarwood, N.Y./Christ the King) converted 11-of-14
free-throw attempts in netting 13 points to go with eight assists,
two steals and two blocked shots. Freshman Jared Brownlee
(Portland, Maine/Portland) totaled ten points and five
rebounds, while sophomore Chiedozie Offiah (London,
England) grabbed a team-best ten rebounds off the bench.
Sophomore Rimas Varanauskas
(Kaunas, Lithuania) notched his first collegiate
double-double with career-high totals of 15 points, on 6-of-7
shooting, and ten rebounds. Senior Darryl Minnifield
(Boston, Mass./Brookline) also netted 15 points, shooting
6-of-12 from the field, to go with seven rebounds, while sophomore
Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep)
added ten points, four rebounds and four
assists.
Merrimack went to the free-throw
line 18 more times than Franklin Pierce and out-scored the Ravens
25-9 at the stripe for the contest. The Warriors shot 41.5-percent
(22-of-53) from the field, including 6-19 (31.6%) from three-point
range. The Ravens shot 38.3-percent (23-60) from the floor,
including 25% (8-32) in the first half, and converted just 5-27
(18.5%) three-point shots.
Franklin Pierce used an 11-2 run to
take an eight-point lead (14-6) just 5:50 into the contest after a
Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall)
three-pointer and a layup from Minnifield. Merrimack drew even
(19-19) after back-to-back three-pointers from Corcoran with 8:55
left in the stanza.
The game was still tied (23-23)
with 5:33 left in the opening half when Merrimack closed out the
period with an 11-2 run of its own to take a nine-point (34-25)
lead into the intermission. Seven of the Warriors points during
that stretch came at the line, while Corcoran scored four points in
that spell.
Senior Tom Sipsey (Salem,
N.H./Central Catholic) drained a three-pointer to put
Merrimack up 12 (39-27) 1:09 into the second half, but Franklin
Pierce closed within four (39-25) after a Munch jumper with 16:20
to play. The Ravens would go scoreless over the next five minutes
as the Warriors regained a double-figure lead.
Franklin Pierce closed within four
twice more, the last coming after a Wellman layup (48-44) with 9:25
to go, but Merrimack regained control with a 13-4 run to open a
13-point cushion (61-48) after another Corcoran three with 5:36 to
play. The Ravens were able to close within eight (66-58) after a
Varanauskas jumper with 3:10 on the clock, but Merrimack held them
to just two points the rest of the way and hit 6-7 free-throws down
the stretch to ice the victory.
Franklin Pierce (12-13, 10-11
NE-10) rounds out its Conference slate on Tuesday when it hosts
Saint Michael's College at 7:30 p.m. The Ravens can clinch home
court advantage for the first round of the upcoming NE-10
Tournament with a win. Merrimack (8-19, 7-14 NE-10) visits Bryant
University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
