North Andover, Mass. – Junior forward Daniel Kaigler (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden/Gannon) converted two foul shots with 14.1 seconds left as the Le Moyne College men's basketball team won its ninth straight game with an 80-76 victory at Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Bert Hammel Court.

Le Moyne (13-3, 8-2 NE10) has won nine consecutive games in the regular season for the first time since the 1987-88 season (John Beilein's fourth season in charge of the Dolphins) and for just the fourth time in the program's history. Junior guard Tanner Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland/Bridgton Academy) led the Dolphins with 18 points, 13 of which he scored in the first half, while adding five rebounds. Junior forward Isaiah Eisendorf (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook/Gannon) tallied 15 points and a team-best six rebounds, while classmate Anthony Richards (New Castle, Pa./New Castle/West Virginia Wesleyan) registered 13 points, including 10 in the second half, and dished out three assists.

Ryan Boulter led the Warriors in the setback with a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half, while adding five rebounds. Troy McLaughlin registered 19 points, 10 of which came in the second half, while Anthony Barry turned in 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Kyle Howes tallied six points in each half before fouling out, while Juvaris Hayes dished out a game-best 11 assists and pulled down seven rebounds.

Merrimack opened the game with the first five points and recorded a trio of five-point leads over the opening 4:05 of the game.

Following back-and-forth action over the next 6:20, which resulted in an 18-15 Merrimack lead, the Dolphins scored four straight points to take their first lead of the game. Freshman forward Tom Brown (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) made a lay-up, his first as a Dolphin after opening career by converting seven three-point attempts, and then Kaigler connected on two free throws for a 19-18 edge.

The teams then traded the lead over the next two minutes before Barry tied the score at 25-apiece with 5:26 to play in the half.

The Dolphins ran off the next 13 points over a span of 2:40. Hyland scored seven of the points, Eisendorf had four and sophomore guard C.J. Asuncion-Byrd (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich/St. Thomas More/Gannon) made a lay-up.

Merrimack scored six points in a row to get within seven, but Hyland drained a three-pointer to give the Dolphins a 41-31 lead at halftime.

Le Moyne tallied the first eight points of the second half to extend its lead to a game-best 18 points with 17:57 remaining. Richards started the streak with a three-pointer, Asuncion-Byrd followed with one of his own and then Eisendorf knocked down a jump shot.

Merrimack answered with seven straight points as it slowly started to chip away at its deficit. Barry accounted for five of the points in the 7-0 spurt, while Boulter added a lay-up, his only two-point basket of the game.

After Richards drained another three-pointer, the Warriors followed with eight straight points to get within six for the first time in the second half. Four different players scored two points in the span for Merrimack.

Le Moyne pushed its lead back to nine twice more before Merrimack used a pair of 5-0 runs around an Eisendorf three-pointer to get within 65-63 with 7:48 remaining. Barry and Boulter each had three points in the 10-3 run.

The Dolphins responded with a 9-1 jaunt to push their lead back to double digits with 4:46 left in the game. Richards and Hyland made lay-ups, Brown had a conventional three-point play and then Eisendorf converted a lay-up for a 74-64 advantage.

Merrimack countered with its final push, a 12-2 run, including nine straight at the beginning, to knot the score at 76 with 1:45 remaining. Howes started the streak with a lay-up, Boulter made a three-pointer and then McLaughlin scored four points over two possessions to make the score 74-73 with 2:52 left. After junior guard Russell Sangster (Rockville, Md./Bullis School) made two free throws with 2:27 to go, Boulter drilled a three-pointer with 1:45 left to even the score.

Following two empty possessions by each team over the next 90 seconds, Kaigler drew a foul at the end of the shot clock with 14.1 seconds left. He converted the ensuing two foul shots to put the Dolphins back in front. After Boulter missed a go-ahead three-point attempt with seven seconds left, Richards delivered the final scoring margin by connecting on two free throws with four seconds left.

The Dolphins, who have the best winning percentage (.813) in the 39-team East Region, look for the program's second-ever double-digit win streak on Wednesday, when they host Saint Michael's College at 5:30 p.m.