Aaron Strothers (Wareham, Mass.) paced Merrimack with a game-high 16 points while Darin Mency (Hagerstown, Md.) added a double double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
After the first 10 minutes of action, Merrimack owned 16-14 advantage on Bentley. The Falcons and Warriors traded buckets and neither team could gain a sizeable lead. Bentley held a narrow 31-27 lead at the half.
Strothers scored 10 points in the first period while Mency chipped in nine. Merrimack shot 38.7% from the floor in the opening half and limited the home team to just 31.6%.
The Warriors came out strong as they narrowed the Falcons’ lead to just two.
After Merrimack went on an 8-2 run, Bentley strung together a 14-2 stretch of its own to extend the score to 51-37.
A trio of Mency free throws cut the deficit to 10 with 7:24 remaining in the game. Down the stretch, Bentley would not let up as they prevented Merrimack from coming any closer to seal its first win of the season.
The two teams were nearly even on the boards with the Falcons holding the slight advantage, 46-45. The Warriors shot 32% from the field while the host team shot 35% in the game. Both squads converted 71% of their shots from the charity stripe.
“We came out strong and played well for the first 20 minutes,” said head coach Bert Hammel. “The only thing we can do is learn from this game and just get ready for Stonehill.”
Merrimack is idle this weekend and will open up play at Volpe Gym November 23 as it hosts Stonehill in a Northeast-10 contest.
- www.merrimackathletics.com
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