There isn't much inside other than a small desk where you can buy tickets. They usually cost $15, but I was somehow given the $5 senior discount without asking, something that is sadly occurring with increasing frequency. There is no stub provided so pick up a lineup sheet for your souvenir.
Artwork and photographs adorn some of the walls here, but I did not see any trophies around. There was a very small concession stand but I did not bother to check what they were offering, though the aroma of fresh popcorn wafting through the air gave me an idea of one option at least.
The gym opened in 1973 and now has a capacity of 1,560 after new bleachers were installed recently. The court is named for Paula Sullivan, who coached the women here from 1971-96, leading them to six Northeast-10 championships.
Both sides have two large sections at center court, two smaller sections facing the top of the key, and two narrow sections facing the basket (below). There are no courtside seats across from the benches, so sitting in the first row here is a great experience.
There are two scoreboards, one with player points and fouls and the other just the basic info, which you can see in the shot below. Note the colour of the scores: when the game is tied the numbers are yellow, but when one team is leading, their score is green while the other is red. You can see this in the final scoreboard posted at the bottom and I believe that it is a feature that I have never seen before.
The Skyhawks nickname is relatively new as the school previously used Chieftains. In 2002, this was deemed disrespectful to Native Americans and in 2005 the nickname was officially changed to Skyhawks after input from students, with a new mascot known as Ace, an anthropomorphic purple hawk. Interestingly, Skyhawks is not a reference to a bird, but an airplane as the school's property was once home to an airfield where the Skyhawk aircraft was used, and previous logos illustrate this. That's Ace below dancing to Cotton Eye Joe during one of the breaks in the action.
Overall, Merkert Gymnasium is as simple as they come for Division I hoops, not surprising since the school was in D-II until a couple of years ago. Stonehill is probably not on too many Boston sports traveler radars, but it is worth a visit if you enjoy being close to the action.
The Game
The Le Moyne Dolphins, in only their second season in D-I, were the visitors, coming in with a 4-11 record in the NEC, while Stonehill was 6-9. The two had met in Syracuse back in January, with the Dolphins winning 73-72. The game tipped a couple of minutes early at 4:28 and I wanted another quick one as I had to drive back to Boston (about 45 minutes with traffic) and then catch a train at 7:52 after dropping off the car. Would the refs help me out? Sadly, no.
The first half started with Stonehill's Louie Semona (#3 in white) scoring the first 8 points, only for Le Moyne to come back and tie the game at 10. The Skyhawks then sank three straight treys, and again the Dolphins were unfazed, notching 11 of the next 13 points to knot things at 21 with 6:24 to go. At this point, "only" 11 fouls had been called, but then the officials went a bit crazy, calling every ticky-tack bit of contact, with 11 more infractions whistled during the final 5:37. Meanwhile, Le Moyne scored the final five points of the period to take a 38-31 lead at the break.
The second half was brutal to watch, with 24 fouls, many of the head-shaking variety (i.e. me shaking my head at what constitutes a foul these days). The Dolphins scored the first five points of the half, but Semona replied with seven straight and from there, the Le Moyne lead ranged from 2 to 9. With 3:52 left and both teams in the double bonus, the Skyhawks had climbed within three. Le Moyne missed a couple of shots and Stonehill's Todd Brogna finished a layup to make it a one-point game. At this time, I started to worry about overtime, which I would not be able to stay for.
After Le Moyne's Zek Tekin missed a three, Ethan Meuser was fouled and made the first, but botched the second, only for Brogna to grab the offensive rebound, leading to a Semona layup that gave the Skyhawks the lead with 1:58 to go. Both clubs missed on their next possession, and then AJ Dancler was fouled, giving him a chance to tie things up. He bricked the first and made the second, and on the next possession, Stonehill took time off the clock before Meuser hit a dagger three to make it 81-77. I breathed a sigh of relief as overtime seemed very unlikely at this point. Dancler missed a layup but the Dolphins got the offensive board, only for Dancler to miss again from distance and they had to foul with 15 ticks to go. Semona made both free throws to ice things, with the final 10 seconds seeing a Dancler dunk and two more Semona freebies to make the final 85-79 Stonehill. The game ended at 6:26, and I was able to get the car returned at about 7:25 after a gas stop, getting back to South Station with 8 minutes to spare.
Both teams shot very well from beyond the arc, with Stonehill hitting 12 of 24, while Le Moyne tallied 10 of 19. The difference was in free throws as the Skyhawks had 31 attempts and made 27 of them, while Le Moyne only had 18 shots from the stripe, sinking 13. Semona was outstanding with 33 points, while Dancler had 28 for the Dolphins; the two accounted for 37% of points scored.
Notes
This visit completed the 28 Division I gyms in New England and was number 198 on the overall quest, which now totals 395 venues. In other words, I am over halfway there. I never expected to get this far, and I still doubt I will complete it as the games are tougher than ever to sit through, but you never know. There's not much else to see in the winter and if the schedules work out, I'll certainly be planning some more trips come November.
Both teams were eliminated in the first round of the NEC tournament, which was held on the following Wednesday.
Next Up
I will finally head to Utah as the Leafs make their first visit to the Delta Center. I will also see some college hoops, MLS, ECHL, and AHL on the trip. Check back next week for recaps.
Best,
Sean
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