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Holy Family University Athletics

Holy Family University Athletics
Header Claw
MBKB - Derrick Stewart
Stephen Pellegrino
55
Holy Family HFU 0-1
71
Winner Merrimack MER 1-0
Holy Family HFU
0-1
55
Final
71
Merrimack MER
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Holy Family HFU 35 20 55
Merrimack MER 26 45 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Tigers Drop Season Opener Versus Merrimack, 71-55



Waltham, Mass. - The Holy Family University men's basketball team dropped its season opener versus Merrimack College by the score of 71-55 in a non-conference contest on Friday night on day one of the Bentley University Tip-Off Classic at the Dana Center.
 
Holy Family starts its season at 0-1, while Merrimack begins the new year with a 1-0 record.
 
In a tale of two halves, Holy Family erased an early deficit in the first half and went on to lead by nine points after junior Derrick Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 27-18 at the 7:07 mark.  Stewart's three-pointer capped a 13-5 run by the Tigers.
 
Holy Family would go on to lead by as many as 13 points in the final minutes of the half.  A jumper by junior transfer Marvin Crawford (Edison, N.J./J.P. Stevens) gave the Tigers a 33-20 lead with 2:40 left until halftime.  Crawford in his first game with Holy Family finished with 12 points and one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.
 
Holy Family would go on to lead 35-26 heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
 
Junior transfer James McDonnell (Swansea, Mass./Bridgton Academy) led the Tigers' offense in the first half with ten points after shooting 5-of-5 from the field.  McDonnell finished the game a team-high 15 points (7-8 FG) to go along with six rebounds.
 
Holy Family shot 43.3-percent (13-30) from the field in the first half and forced 12 turnovers.  The Tigers limited Merrimack to just 29.0-percent shooting from the field in the half.
 
However, in the second half, Merrimack opened with a 28-5 surge to lead by 14 points by the midway part of the half.  The Warriors connected on nearly half their shots (17-37 FG) and were on target from three-point range shooting 7-of-13. 
 
The Tigers struggled to find their shot in the second half shooting only 20.8-percent (5-24), including 2-of-16 from deep range.  Holy Family turned the ball over ten times and was only able to force four turnovers on defense. 
 
Junior Turhan Griffin (Philadelphia, Pa./Franklin Learning Center) finished with eight points, while Stewart and junior Hunter Wysocki (Howell, N.J./Colts Neck) each added five points for the Tigers.  Stewart also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.  In addition, Stewart blocked three shots on made a steal on defense.
 
For Merrimack, Gelvis Solano led all scorers with 22 points after shooting 8-of-16 from the field.  Solano scored 14 of his game-high in the second half to help with the Warriors offensive burst.  He also grbbed a game-high 13 rebounds to record a double-double.  Anthony Barry finished with 16 points; 11 coming in the second half, and ten rebounds.  Troy Hammel added ten points; all in the second half.
 
Holy Family is back in action as the Tigers face Bentley on day two of the Tip-Off Classic on Saturday.  Game time is slated for 8 p.m.  
 
 
- HFU -
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