| Matchup |
Merrimack (11-8, 5-1 NEC) at Saint Francis (12-5, 5-1 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Monday, Jan. 20, 2020 // 4 p.m. |
| Venue |
Degol Arena // Loretto, Pa. |
| Multimedia |
Watch // Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Come Monday night, there will be one team at the top of the Northeast Conference standings. The Merrimack College men's basketball team brings its 5-1 league record to Saint Francis University - who sport a 5-1 record themselves - for a 4 p.m. showdown at Degol Arena on the campus of the Red Flash. The Warriors carry a season-long four-game winning streak into Monday's matchup while the Red Flash own the league's top overall record (12-5), winning 10 of their last 11 including five in a row.
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
After dropping its NEC opener, Saint Francis has won its last five NEC games including three wins on campus against Wagner (80-62), St. Francis Brooklyn (81-80) and Sacred Heart (72-65). Four of the five NEC triumphs have been by seven points or more. Saint Francis employs two of the NEC's top-five scorers in Isaiah Blackmon (17.4 ppg) and Keith Braxton (16.7 ppg). As a team they rank second in scoring offense, first in field-goal percentage and are tied for first in 3-point field-goal percentage.
HISTORY AGAINST SFU
Merrimack and Saint Francis will play for the first time in program history on Monday afternoon. The Warriors and Red Flash will only play once this season; SFU and Wagner are the two NEC opponents that Merrimack will only play once in 2019-20.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (11-8, 5-1 NEC) |
Saint Francis (12-5, 5-1 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
62.1 |
78.6 |
| Scoring Defense |
61.1 |
72.4 |
| Field-Goal % |
41.5% |
45.7/% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
43.8% |
44.7% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
30.2% |
37.4% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
32.0% |
34.6% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
136-451 |
116-310 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
69.2% |
75.2% |
| Winning Percentage |
.579 |
.706 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-8.6 |
+2.8 |
| Assists/Game |
11.8 |
11.3 |
| Steals/Game |
10.4 |
7.1 |
| Turnovers/Game |
11.5 |
12.8 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.6 |
2.5 |
| Total Fouls |
325 |
297 |
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Merrimack joins Cal Baptist and North Alabama as programs going through the reclassification process to Division I. As part of the process, the Warriors will not be postseason eligible in the NEC and not be able to compete in the conference tournament; Merrimack will, however, count in the regular season standings and have an opportunity to claim a NEC Regular Season Championship. The Warriors also will not appear in the national statistics until the reclassification process completes ahead of the 2023-24 season. In men's basketball, the Warriors are eligible for select postseason tournament such as the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the College Insider Tournament (CIT).
DERRING DIGS LEAGUE PLAY
Freshman
Mykel Derring has turned up his shooting in Northeast Confernece (NEC) play. The freshman guard leads Merrimack in 3-pointers made (13) and 3-point percentage (.419) in league games, and won NEC Rookie of the Week following a pair of efforts against Mount St. Mary's and Central Connecticut.
THE NEW ASSIST KING
With six helpers on against Boston University on Sunday, Dec. 29,
Juvaris Hayes surpassed Darren Duncan '10 as the program's all-time assists leader. Hayes enters Monday with 859 career helpers. He ranks second in the NEC in assists per game (5.5)
PUTTING THE NEC IN THE ZONE
Led by the nation's leader in steals in
Juvaris Hayes (70), the Warriors' defense has dominated during NEC play. The Warriors led the conference in turnover margin (+5.6) and steals per game (10.4), averaging three more steals than any other team. Merrimack also has the league's best scoring defense at 61.1 points per game. Nationally, Merrimack ranks sixth in turnover margin (+5.9) and also sixth in steals per game (10.4).
LOU HENSON AWARD MID-SEASON WATCHLIST
Another prestigious recognition bestowed to Hayes was a spot on the Lou Henson Award mid-season Watch List, which was announced last Thursday. The point guard was one of 50 players named to the list, which is given to the nation's top mid-major player at year's end. Hayes was one of three players from the NEC named on the watch list, as well.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Senior
Idris Joyner has led Merrimack in scoring in each of the last three games, becoming the eighth different Warrior to lead Merrimack in scoring this season. Joyner, Hayes, junior
Devin Jensen and sophomore
Mikey Watkins have led the team in scoring two times each. Senior
Jaleel Lord leads the way with six games as the team's top scorer. Merrimack is tied with Illinois State with the highest amount of scoring leaders nationwide.
DRIS IS COOKING IN CONFERENCE
Joyner has been Merrimack's top scorer in confernece play, averaging nearly 12 points per game. He scored a career high (16) against Bryant, and led Merrimack in scoring in four straight games prior to Saturday at RMU. His in-league scoring average is nearly four points higher than his overall scoring average on the season.
Up Next:
Merrimack returns home to host Fairleigh Dickinson on campus on Thursday evening. Tip-off at Hammel Court is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase
here.
