Taylor Notches 12th Career Double-Double With 24 Points And 10 Boards As 10th-Ranked Men's Basketball's Second Half Comeback Fall Just Short At Buzzer In 71-69 Northeast-10 Setback To Merrimack

January 21, 2006

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL:MERRIMACK 71, STONEHILL 69

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Kenny Jones's (Norwich, Conn.) five-foot runner as time expired gave Merrimack a 71-69 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over 10th-ranked Stonehill Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

Jones took an inbounds pass with 6.6 seconds remaining, drove by two defenders and tossed in the winning shot for the visiting Warriors (9-9, 7-6 Northeast-10), who trailed by nine early on but held a 13-point halftime lead (39-26) and led by as many as 11 points (56-45) midway through the second half. The host Skyhawks (14-3, 10-3 Northeast-10) used an 8-2 run over a 3:37 stretch to close their deficit to five points (58-53) on a three-pointer by junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.), but Merrimack regained a seven point edge on three occasions, the last coming on a Jones "hail mary" three-pointer with 3:29 to play. Stonehill then scored the next nine points of the contest to take its first lead of the half, as senior Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass.) evened matters at 67 and then gave the Skyhawks a two-point cushion with a lay-in that came with 1:23 to play. The Warriors tied the score on a rebound jumper by senior Bruno Zanotti (Ascuncion, Paraguay) on the next possession, and Stonehill had a pair of chances to regain the lead but turned the ball over on an offensive foul with 6.6 seconds left, setting up Jones's heroics.

Zanotti and senior Bobby Murgo (Watertown, Mass.) led Merrimack in the scoring column with 14 points each, while Jones added 12 points for the Warriors, who also received 11 points and eight rebounds from junior Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor (Lawrence, Mass.). Senior Kent Leahy (Braintree, Mass.) was also in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds for the visitors, who shot 44 percent from the field but held a 37-27 rebounding edge to go with a 15-8 scoring advantage at the foul line. The win avenged a three-point Stonehill overtime triumph three weeks ago in North Andover.

Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the way for Stonehill with his 12th career double-double effort of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass.) added 17 points (including three three-pointers) for the Skyhawks. Nelson chipped in with 11 points in the setback for the hosts, who also received seven points and six assists from senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont.). Stonehill, the top-ranked team in NCAA Northeast Regional circles, shot 58 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes of play and canned 11 three-pointers in the setback after shooting just 31 percent from the floor in the first half of action.

Both teams will square off with Bentley in their next respective Northeast-10 outings, as Stonehill travels to Waltham, Mass. on Thursday evening to take on the Falcons at the Dana Center beginning at 7:30 p.m. Merrimack and Bentley will meet on Tuesday evening in a league match-up in Waltham that also begins at 7:30 p.m.