NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - While opposing a squad that had qualified for the last two NCAA Tournaments, the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost to Merrimack College, 89-64, on Saturday during Northeast-10 Conference play on Hammel Court.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-6, 1-6 NE10), Merrimack (6-5, 4-3 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Eli DiGrande (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
• Sophomore Walker Storey (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 13 points (career high), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-for-5 three-pointers
• Senior Winston Jones II (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central), 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
• Senior Derek Cheatom (Buffalo, N.Y./The Park School of Buffalo), 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals
• Junior Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian), 6 points, 7 rebounds

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Juvaris Hayes, 19 points, 5 rebounds, 9 steals, 8 assists, 7-for-9 field goals
• Junior Idris Joyner, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Sophomore Khalief Crawford, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights' last NE10 game until Jan. 9.
• Saint Michael's held a 45-35 rebounding advantage, tying its season high for boards, and limited the hosts to 24.0 percent three-point shooting.
• Merrimack qualified for the past two NCAA Tournaments.
• Seven Warriors scored at least nine points.

THE ACTION

• Hayes' lay-up at 15:32 of the opening half capped a 9-0 run that gave the hosts a seven-point lead, and his bucket with 12:49 remaining pushed the advantage to 13-4.
• Saint Michael's rallied within four points three times, including when Jones converted a three-point play at 10:29 (17-13) and on his jumper with 8:24 to go (19-15).
• DiGrande's lay-up off of a Jones pass made it 23-19 at 6:59, but four players scored during Merrimack's 9-0 response. The hosts continued to lead by double figures, and Hayes netted five points in the final 43 seconds to create a 41-25 margin by halftime.
• Sophomore Jason Heter's (Andover, N.J./Newton) basket at 14:37 of the second half kept Saint Michael's within 50-33, but the Warriors pulled away with a 15-2 run.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Dec. 15 vs. Dominican (N.Y.) College, 1 p.m.
• The Chargers are receiving votes toward the latest D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.