RINDGE, N.H. — The Merrimack College men's basketball team used a 28-9 run late in the second half to overcome a 12-point deficit to defeat Franklin Pierce 83-77 yesterday afternoon.
Merrimack trailed 50-43 with 9:43 remaining in regulation but took a 54-52 lead behind two 3-pointers from Craig Woehnker. It extended the lead to as much as 12, at 71-59 with 3:15 remaining, led by 14 free throws from junior captain Darren Duncan ,who tallied a game-high 26 points and eight assists. Sophomore Darin Mency added four 3-pointers and 24 points.
Merrimack shot 50 percent from behind the arc on 5-of-10 shooting and 75 percent from the free throw line and scored 51 points in the final 20 minutes for the comeback road victory.
Merrimack (7-1, 5-1 NE-10) will compete in the Bridgeport Holiday Tournament against the host Purple Knights Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. and against Post University Dec. 30 at 4 p.m.
Women take a whipping
The Merrimack women's basketball team concluded its pre-holiday schedule with a 76-44 loss to 23rd-ranked Franklin Pierce.
The game was supposed to feature a matchup of the conference's two top scorers in Merrimack's Amanda Shannon of North Andover and Franklin Pierce's Johannah Leedham, but Shannon was limited to a season-low six points while Leedham did not play.
Freshman Hannah DeGraffinreed tallied 11 points and eight rebounds while Casey Miller also finished with 11 but she committed eight turnovers.
Franklin Pierce scored 39 points off 26 Merrimack turnovers as the Ravens improved to 5-3 (4-3 NE-10) on the season. The Warriors (2-6, 1-4 NE-10) travel to Washington to face Western Washington Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. and Seattle Pacific Jan. 2 at 5 p.m.
Kelli Johnson 1-on-1 with John Thompson III -2/13
Alexander Semin finds back of net versus Rangers-2/12
The Sixers are not taking anyone lightly
Spring training is right around the corner
Moving day: Phils' gear en route to Clearwater
Will the Flyers make a move at the trade deadline?
Stoglin's frustrations boil over following Duke loss-2/12
Timonen "disappointed" in teammates' effort
Morganti: 'Rangers' power play demolished the Flyers'
Timonen: 'I think we got half the guys going and half the guys not'
More shootout woes in store for the Flyers when they face the Red Wings?
The Rangers have the Flyers' number
St. Joseph's vs. Massachusetts Highlights - 2/11
Penn vs. Dartmouth Highlights - 2/11
Drexel vs. Hofstra Highlights - 2/11
La Salle vs. St. Louis Highlights - 2/11
John Wall talks about the loss to the Heat-2/10
Collins takes the blame for the Sixers' final possession
Sixers vs. Clippers highlights
Sixers defensive effort not enough vs. Clippers
Julien: 'did it the hard way'
McAdam's Spring Training primer
Doc: Team's effort is 'un-Celtic'
Pierce stresses mental toughness
Globe 10.0 Who was the best free agent in Boston?
Maria Menounos dons a Giants-colored bikini after losing Super Bowl bet-2/7
Thomas' moratorium: 'I'm out, peace'
Gasol: 'Not pleasant' being part of trade rumor
Blakely: Gasol-for-Rondo trade unlikely
Brady-ing is Latest Internet Meme
Globe 10.0: Is Paul Pierce the Celtics greatest scorer?
Ranking Pierce among Celtics greats
Garnett's tale of first meeting Paul Pierce
Pierce's loyalty touted after big night
Hurt Locker: Patriots react to Super Bowl loss
Brown: 'Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady'
Local fans crushed by Patriots loss in Super Bowl XLVI
Marcus Johansson Caps lone goal in loss to Bruins-2/5
Matt Hendricks throws down with the Bruins' Adam McQuaid--2/5
Vinatieri, Law, Brown recount Super Bowl XXXVI
