January 8, 2009
MBB: MERRIMACK DOWNS LE MOYNE, 81-70, IN CONFERENCE
ACTION
North Andover, Mass. - Sophomore forward Kevin Roth (Lake
View, N.Y./St. Francis) scored a career-high 16 points to
lead five Dolphins in double-figures, but the Le Moyne College
men's basketball team lost to Merrimack, 81-70, in Northeast-10
Conference action on Thursday night at the Volpe Gym.
Roth added 10 rebounds to his 16 points for his third double-double
of the season. Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt
Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) tallied 15 points and 11
rebounds prior to fouling out for his eighth consecutive
double-double and 11th of the season. Freshman guard Chris
Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) finished with 13
points to land in twin figures for the sixth straight game, while
the starting backcourt of freshman James Cormier (Trumbull,
Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy) and junior Damani
Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) tallied 12 and
10 points, respectively. Junior guard Darren Duncan, the
conference's leader in points and assists, registered game-highs of
21 points and six assists. Jared Brownlee came off the bench to
record 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Winters and Darin
Mency each scored 10 points.
Over the opening four and one-half minutes of the contest, the two
squads traded baskets as Merrimack registered an 11-10 lead. After
Cormier hit a three, the Warriors ran off a 12-4 streak to take a
nine point lead. The Dolphins answered back with 13 straight points
to take a four point lead with just under nine minutes remaining in
the half. Johnson sparked the streak with a layup and a pair of
three-pointers, while Roth made a layup and Cormier drilled a shot
from three-point range to give his team the advantage.
Following five consecutive points by Duncan and alternating baskets
by the two squads got the Warriors within a point, Merrimack scored
18 of the half's final 22 points to go into the intermission with a
50-37 lead. Freshman Wayne Mack scored all seven of his points in
the run, while Duncan added five points to build the 13-point
advantage. Cormier led the Dolphins in the opening 20 minutes with
10 points.
Neither team was able to gain momentum over the first 10 minutes of
the second half as Le Moyne trimmed its deficit to nine points with
a modest 16-12 advantage in the span. Corbin and Roth each tallied
four points in th streak for the Dolphins.
Over the next eight minutes, the Dolphins cut into their deficit,
pulling with five points on a foul shot by Corbin with 1:33
remaining. However, Duncan, who shared this week's conference
player of the week honor with Ekperigin, hit 7-of-8 foul
shots and Brownlee connected on a pair to clinch the game for the
Warriors.
Le Moyne (7-7, NE-10 4-6) returns to action at Ted Grant Court on
Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against Stonehill.
-agate-
Merrimack
81, Le Moyne 70
Le Moyne (7-7, NE-10 4-6)
37 33 -
70
Merrimack (10-2, NE-10 6-2) 50
31 - 81
Please wait while the ticker loads...
