| Matchup |
Merrimack (3-3) vs. Lesley (0-6) |
| Date/Time |
Friday, Nov. 22, 2019 // 7 p.m. |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Live Stats // Watch |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After a headline-grabbing first two weeks to its Division I era featuring a victory at Northwestern and a buzzer-beating win at UMass Lowell, the Merrimack College men's basketball program will play its first home game of the 2019-20 season on Friday night when the Warriors welcome Lesley University to Hammel Court for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Five Things to Know:
- Merrimack is in the midst of its inaugural Division I season, starting its four-year classification as a Division I Athletics Department in the 2019-20 season. Merrimack will play a full Northeast Conference schedule, partaking in its first season as a NEC member. The Warriors have began the year with a 3-3 record, picking up a marquee victory over Northwestern in addition to wins against UMass Lowell and Jacksonville University.
- The Warriors are led by senior point guard Juvaris Hayes, who paces Merrimack in rebound, assists and steals per game while ranking second on the team in scoring. After his debut week that featured a season-best 19 points and nine rebounds in the win against the Wildcats, Hayes was named both the NEC Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness National Mid-Major Player of the Week.
- In the scoring department, Hayes' 9.5 points per game trails only classmate Jaleel Lord (9.6 ppg) for the team lead. Lord ranks second on the team in 3-point field goals (11) and has scored in double figures twice through five games.
- The Warriors' four-player freshman class has made an immediate impact on the team. Jordan Minor was named NEC Rookie of the Week following his performance at the River Hawk Invitational, helping Merrimack to a pair of wins. The quartet of Minor, Mykel Derring, Jordan McKoy and Ziggy Reid have appear in every game, averaging at least 15.0 minutes per contest.
- Lesley - a Division III institution our of the New England Collegiate Conference - has an 0-6 record entering today's contest.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (3-3) |
Lesley (0-6) |
| Scoring Offense |
58.5 |
73.5 |
| Scoring Defense |
65.8 |
101.5 |
| Field-Goal % |
37.4% |
40.3% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
45.8% |
51.5% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
30.7% |
27.8% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
28.9% |
36.3% |
| 3-PT Field Goal Attempts |
163 |
162 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
72.2% |
66.7% |
| Winning Percentage |
.500 |
.000 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-9.0 |
1.7 |
| Assists/Game |
11.7 |
13.5 |
| Steals/Game |
9.2 |
5.8 |
| Turnovers/Game |
11.5 |
22.8 |
| Blocks/Game |
1.5 |
0.8 |
| Total Fouls |
106 |
115 |
Up Next:
Merrimack battles the University of Hartford on Sunday afternoon, playing the Hawks at 2 p.m. at Chase Arena inside the Reich Family Pavillion.
