Bentley, the reigning NCAA Division II East Region champion, came up empty over the weekend, dropping two by a total of five points despite a potent offense that shot nearly 50 percent and put 83.5 points a game on the scoreboard.
Turnovers proved costly in an 86-84 loss to Bloomfield in the season-opener and Concordia (N.Y.) dominated the boards en route to a three-point victory on Saturday.
Merrimack, ranked 22nd in the preseason National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll, shot the lights out (.576 for the weekend) and averaged 102.5 points while registering victories over the same two teams. The Warriors started fast en route to a 95-81 win over Concordia and scored 55 points in each half of a 110-82 rout of Bloomfield.
Senior forward Brian Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo./Heritage HS) was Bentley’s top scorer over the opening weekend, putting up 23 a game while shooting the ball at a 60 percent clip with five three-pointers.
Tom Dowling (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side HS) and Mike Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./ Montville HS) also scored in doubles during the opening weekend, netting 13.5 and 13, respectively. Quinn made half of his 12 three-point attempts, and also provided six rebounds and 2.5 steals a game.
Guards Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine/Winthrop HS) and Greg Jacques (Brockton/Brockton HS) both provided offense off the bench, combining to shoot 55 percent and average 16 points.
A number of Merrimack players turned in impressive performances during the opening tournament, including Northeast-10 Player of the Week Darin Mency. He nailed 11 three-pointers and averaged 33 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Six-foot-seven post Aaron Strothers shot a ridiculous 83 percent from the floor while averaging 22 points, and guard Roland Davis gave the Warriors 19 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.
Links for live video and live stats for the game will be available at www.bentleyfalcons.com.
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