Another Pivotal Regional Tilt Awaits Men’s Basketball Saturday at Bentley

Matchup	Merrimack (17-9, 13-6 NE10) at Bentley (13-11, 10-9 NE10)
Date/Time	Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018 (2 p.m.)
Venue	Waltham, Mass. // Dana Center
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video // Twitter // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Ranked No. 10 in the first of three NCAA Division II East Regional polls, the Merrimack College men's basketball team will continue its attempt to climb into the top-eight on Saturday when the Navy and Gold travel to Bentley University on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. The contest will be played earlier than usual due to the opening of Bentley's new ice hockey arena on campus this weekend.    

NE10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-five programs in the Northeast Division advance to the NE10 Championship. Merrimack has secured a top-two seed in next week's tournament, and will have a bye to the quarterfinal round on Sunday, Feb. 25.

1. Saint Anselm (19-6, 14-5)
2. Merrimack (17-9, 13-6)
3. Stonehill (15-10, 11-8)
4. Bentley (13-11, 10-9)
5. SNHU (13-11, 9-10)
6. Franklin Pierce (14-10, 9-10)
7. Assumption (7-18, 3-16)
8. Saint Michael's (6-18, 3-16)

Last Time Out:

• Merrimack used a 13-0 first-half run that erased an early 14-4 hole, and outscored the Stonehill Skyhawks over the final 14 minutes of the opening stanza, 44-22, to sprint past Stonehill, 85-74, on Wednesday night
• The victory gave Merrimack a season sweep of the Skyhawks, ensuring the Warriors of a top-two seed out of the Northeast Division in the upcoming NE10 Championship. Stonehill was also the eighth-ranked program in the regional poll
• Sophomore Juvaris Hayes led the way for the Warriors with 24 points and seven steals. Freshman Khalief Crawford added 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and junior Troy McLaughlin contributed 11 first-half points without missing a shot

'Mack Facts:

• The Warriors can finish no worse than second in the Northeast, which will be the program's best league finish since the conference realigned to a divisional format beginning in the 2013-14 season
• The Navy and Gold will host a NE10 Quarterfinal game next Sunday at Hammel Court at 3 p.m. It will be Merrimack's first appearance in the quarterfinals since 2014-15
• With seven steals on Saturday, Hayes increased his career-high total to 100. He is only the third player in NE10 history with 100 steals in a single season, and is 15 shy of setting a new NE10 record
• The Paterson, N.J. native was also native to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List on Thursday, which is given to the best small college basketball player nationwide. The award includes candidates from NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.
• Both Hayes (918) and junior Ryan Boulter (922) are nearing 1,000-point milestones as the regular season winds down. The duo will become the 44th and 45th players in program annals with 1,000 career points

The Falcons:

• Bentley currently sits in fourth place in the Northeast, leading Southern New Hampshire and Franklin Pierce by one game
• Bentley snapped a brief two-game losing skid with an 82-74 win against Saint Michael's on Wednesday. The Falcons have won eight of their last 18 games after starting the season 5-1
• Junior Ryan Richmond is one of the top guards in the conference, averaging a team-leading 23.0 points per game. Richmond is the third-highest scorer in the NE10, shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range
• Senior Brandon Wheeler is Bentley's leading rebounder at 7.2 per contest. The Falcons typically have the advantage on the glass, outrebounding their opponents on average by 6.0 per game

The Series:

• The Warriors knocked off Bentley, 72-60, earlier this season at Hammel Court. At time, Merrimack held the Falcons to a season low in scoring
• Last season, Merrimack won in Waltham for the first time in 13 years. The program hasn't won in back-to-back seasons at Bentley since the 1999-00 and 2000-01 campaigns
• McLaughlin was the hero in last years game, scoring 25 points off the bench without missing a three-pointer (5-5) in the 68-61 victory

Up Next
The Navy and Gold host Saint Michael's on Tuesday night in their final regular season game of the year at 7:30 p.m. from Hammel Court. The contest will be Senior Night, with the careers of redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr. and senior Kyle Howes recognized during the pregame ceremony.