NORTH ANDOVER, MA (Dec. 4, 2007) – Freshman G Darin Mency scored 25 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead Merrimack College over UMass Lowell, 80-73, Tuesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball clash at the Volpe Center.

With the loss, UML slipped to 1-4 overall and 1-4 in the NE-10 entering Thursday night’s home clash against Southern Connecticut (7:30). Merrimack, ranked No. 25 in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the NE-10.

Senior G Dashon Harper (Columbus, OH) led UML with 23 points as he converted 7 of 14 field goals, including 6 of 12 from long range, while sophomore F Victor Colon (Chicago, IL) added 17 points.

Senior G Jamael Lynch (Brooklyn, NY) chipped in 15 points – all in the second half – along with five assists and four rebounds. Lynch converted 4 of 8 attempts from long range.

Sophomore G Darren Duncan added 17 points for Merrimack, including nine in the final 5:26, and dished out nine assists.

The Warriors committed 18 turnovers, but benefited from 15 by UML, outscoring them 22-13 off miscues. Merrimack also outscored UML at the free throw line, 23-11, converting 17 of 18 attempts from the stripe in the second half.

Merrimack opened the game with a 24-7 run and snatched a 43-28 lead at the break, led by nine points from Mency and sophomore F Jared Brownlee (Portland, ME).

UML trailed by as much as 17 (45-28) in the first minutes of the second half, but staged a 16-3 run to cut the lead to 48-44 with 13:57 remaining. Lynch fueled the run with three consecutive 3-point shots.

The Warriors answered with a 9-5 spurt to go ahead 57-49 with 10:21 remaining, but UML regrouped and used a 14-3 tear to post a 63-60 lead with 5:45 left to play. Colon and Harper each fueled the run with a trey and a conventional 3-point play.

With the score knotted 71-71 with 2:33 left, the Warriors ended the game with an 8-2 spurt fueled by 6 of 7 free throw shooting, to preserve the win.

In the first half, Merrimack shot .552 from the floor opposed to .273 shooting by UML. However, the River Hawks battled back from an opening 24-7 deficit to trim the lead to 40-28 with 2:04 left in the half, in large part to Harper, who scored 12 of his points in the final 11:54 of the half.