Men’s Basketball Finishes Regular Season at Saint Michael’s

Matchup	Merrimack (18-9, 13-7 NE10) at Saint Michael's (7-18, 4-16 NE10)
Date/Time	Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 // 7:30 p.m.
Venue	Colchester, Vt. // Ross Sports Center
Multimedia	Live Stats // Watch // Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team will conclude the regular season on Tuesday night when the Warriors face Saint Michael's College at 7:30 p.m. from the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. The Warriors are locked into second place in the Northeast Division entering this weekend's NE10 Championship, and will host the NE10 Quarterfinals this Sunday at Hammel Court.

Merrimack's quarterfinal opponent remains to be seen, as the Warriors can face one of three different programs entering Tuesday night. The Warriors will face one of Le Moyne, New Haven or Adelphi depending on the results in the Southwest Division on the final day of the regular season.

The program also begins the week as the fourth-ranked team in the first NCAA Division II East Region poll, with an updated rankings set to come out on Wednesday. The top-eight in the poll per the Division II Men's Basketball Selection Committee come season's end will advance to the NCAA Tournament; Merrimack is making a bid for its third consecutive trip to the big dance.

Five Things to Know:

• Merrimack locked up the Northeast Division's second seed following a 21-6 game-ending run on Saturday against the Bentley. The Warriors prevailed, 65-54, after holding the high-powered Falcons without a bucket for a near seven-minute stretch during the run that saw Merrimack overcome a 48-44 deficit to prevail. Senior Ryan Boulter totaled a team-best 19 points while junior Juvaris Hayes flirted with a quadruple-double followed a line of 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals
• With a win tomorrow, the Warriors will match their second best NE10 record ever at 14-7. The Warriors also are knocking on the door of their second straight 20-win campaign and 10^th in school history. Head coach Joe Gallo has won at least 18 games in each of his first three years at the helm of the program
• Hayes' effort on Saturday allowed him to eclipse 1,500 career points, becoming the 14^th player in school history to do so. He increased his Division II lead in steals to 109, owning 12 more steals than any other player nationwide and 61 more than the next closest player in the NE10. Along with junior Idris Joyner who leads the NE10 with 47 blocks, the duo are part of a Merrimack defense that ranks second in the league and leads the division by allowing 66.1 points per game
• Other team notes on defense include a league-leading 9.5 steals per game, which ranks 18^th nationwide. Merrimack also ranks 19^th in Division II with a NE10-leading 17.5 turnovers forced per contest
• Offensively, Boulter moved into the league lead with 85 3-pointers made through 25 contests. Junior Jaleel Lord is also in the top 10, sinking the seventh-most triples in the league (65). The duo's 150 made triples are the second most of any combination in the league, and accounts for more than 60 percent of Merrimack's scoring

February Flashback:

• Merrimack posted one of its most balanced offensive efforts of the season in its first meeting with Saint Michael's, seeing five different players finish in double figures as part of an 89-64 victory
• Hayes (19), Joyner (13) and sophomore Khalief Crawford (11) all chipped in at least 10 points among the starters, while freshman Mikey Watkins added 10 points off the bench and sophomore Devin Jensen chipped in a season-high 10 of his own as a reserve
• The Warriors' defense forced the Purple Knights into 28 turnovers, resulting in 37 Merrimack points

Scouting the Opposition

Merrimack (18-9, 13-7 NE10)	Stat Category	Saint Michael's (7-18, 4-16 NE10)
73.9	Points Per Game	71.7
66.1	Points Allowed Per Game	80.0
.458	Field Goal Percentage	.418
.352	Three-Point FG Percentage	.362
32.0	Rebounds Per Game	36.1
Juvaris Hayes (18.6 ppg)	Points Leader	Levi Holmes III (20.4 ppg)
Hayes (6.5 rpg)	Rebounds Leader	Eli DeGrande (6.5 rpg)
Hayes (6.4 apg)	Assists Leader	Jordan Guzman (3.6 apg)
Hayes (4.0 spg)	Steals Leader	Derek Cheatom (1.3 spg)
Joyner (1.7 bpg)	Blocks Leader	Cheatom (0.9 bpg)

 
Up Next:
Following Tuesday's results, the Warriors will begin preparations for their opponent in the NE10 Quarterfinal on Sunday afternoon. The program will host a conference tournament playoff game for the third consecutive season, and host the quarterfinals for the second straight year.