NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - In the teams' 80th meeting since the series began in 1955, the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost at regionally-ranked Merrimack College, 93-76, on Wednesday evening on Hammel Court. The Purple Knights are winless through six contests, including four Northeast-10 Conference outings, while the Warriors are 6-1 and 3-0. Merrimack is tied for sixth in the D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.

Senior Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) recorded his 31st career double-double behind 27 points and 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. He shot 11-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-7 on free throws while tacking on two steals, and has now scoring at least 20 points in five of six games this year. Sophomore Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep) netted 10 points, hitting two three-pointers, while first-year Stan Foster (Rochester, N.Y./Avon Old Farms School) had seven points. Senior Zaire Williams (Paterson, N.J./Newark Academy) handed out five assists with two steals, and classmate David Sullivan (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) dished off three helpers. Six others scored between three and six points.

Saint Michael's shot 50.0 percent from the floor, including 46.3 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc, while holding a 34-31 rebounding advantage, with 14 boards coming on the offensive end. During the game, Bonds pushed his career points total to 1,096, nearing the top 30 in program history. Bob Millikin '85 (1,097) and Anthony Scott '02 (1,098) are 31st and 30th, respectively.

Five Warriors scored in double figures, with sophomore Ryan Boulter netting 30 points behind 8-of-16 three-point shooting. First-year Juvaris Hayes had 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with 12 assists and nine boards, while sophomore Troy McLaughlin notched 10 points and eight helpers off the bench.

Four Warriors scored in pushing their team to a 10-6 edge by the time 15:27 remained in the opening half, but juniors Bruno Beča (Zagreb, Croatia/Westchester Country Day School) and Colin Richey (Upton, Mass./Choate Rosemary Hall) and first-year Eli DiGrande (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) all netted hoops to bring the visitors back, as Beča's putback at 13:38 knotted the game at 12. After the foes traded 5-0 runs, Hayes had the first six points in a 10-3 stretch that allowed Merrimack to forge ahead 27-20. DiGrande's free throw with 5:43 to go made it 29-23, but Hayes netted six points in an 8-3 stretch, and the hosts were up by 11 at 37-26.

McLaughlin knocked down a triple with 1:35 left to keep it 42-31, but Foster made a three of his own 24 seconds later, and Bonds' late putback allowed the Purple Knights to trail just 42-36 at halftime. Ten different Saint Michael's players scored in the opening half, with Bonds' 12 points leading the way.

Boulter canned consecutive treys to extend the Merrimack advantage to 12 early in the second stanza, but Holmes scored five points in 18 seconds to trim the deficit to seven. Six straight points kicked off a 9-4 run that Hayes capped with a three that put the Warriors ahead 59-47 with 13:35 to play, but Beča and Bonds both had four points in an 8-0 run, and the visitors trailed by four at 11:08. However, Boulter scored 11 points in a 14-2 run that took 2:14 to elapse, and Saint Michael's was down 73-57 with 8:07 to go.

Still down by 15, the visitors made a late charge to within single digits, as sophomore Derek Cheatom (Buffalo, N.Y./The Park School of Buffalo) knocked down a three at 3:45 before Bonds notched a bucket and a freebie, and the Purple Knights were down 83-74 with a little less than three minutes to go. However, Boulter hit two more threes as Merrimack ended the game on a 10-2 run.

Saint Michael's hosts regionally-ranked Stonehill College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Skyhawks are ninth in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.