Merrimack Stuffs Franklin Pierce, 68-59
Warriors out-score Ravens, 20-4, at free-throw line
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (February 11, 2003) - In a defensive battle, Merrimack College registered a 68-59 victory over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Volpe Complex tonight.
Neither team shot 40-percent from the field for the game as Franklin Pierce hit 38.7% (24-62) of its shot from the floor, including seven-of-20 (35%) from three-point range, and Merrimack shot 36.4% (20-55), including 8-23 (34.8%) from downtown. The game was won at the free-throw line as Merrimack enjoyed a 20-4 scoring advantage at the line (15-2 second half) as it went to the line 19 more times (25-6) than Franklin Pierce.
Freshman Bobby Murgo netted a season-high 22 points (13 second half) on 6-11 shooting from the floor, canning 4-8 from three-point range, and hitting 6-6 at the line, to go with seven rebounds. Junior Justin Leith totaled 16 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Adam Shephard chipped in 13 points, including four three's, and two steals off the bench. Sophomore Kent Leahy (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) contributed seven points, a game-high nine rebounds and three blocks.
Junior Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led Franklin Pierce with 17 points and three rebounds, while classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) contributed 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. Freshman Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) chipped in eight points, while senior Sharod Campbell (Dorchester, Mass./Boston English) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and senior Tom Waterman (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) dished six assists to go with seven points.
Franklin Pierce scored the game's first six points after a conventional three-point play from Rodgerson and a three-ball from Waterman in the opening 34-seconds, but Merrimack responded with a 7-0 run over the next three-minutes to take its first lead after a Murgo three-pointer.
The Ravens forged another four-point lead (14-10) at the 13:16-mark after a Zvonko Ilic (Nis, Yugoslavia) trifecta, before the Warriors registered a 12-4 run sparked by three's from Leith and Shephard to take a four-point advantage (22-18) of their own with 6:58 left in the half.
Merrimack settled for a three-point lead at the break (30-27) before Franklin Pierce stormed out of the locker room with an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to take a 34-30 advantage. Hunt and Roderson each canned three-pointers in the rally.
The game featured two more lead changes and was deadlocked at 47-47 with 6:54 to play, before Merrimack reeled off a back-breaking 10-4 run to open a six point cushion with 3:49 to play and never looked back. Three's from Murgo and Shephard capped the run.
Franklin Pierce (11-13, 9-10 NE-10) returns to the hardwood on Saturday when it hosts Bryant College in a key Conference match-up at 3:30 p.m. Merrimack (10-13, 7-11 NE-10) travels to Pace University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.