| Matchup |
Merrimack (7-8, 1-1 NEC) vs. Mount St. Mary's (5-10, 1-1 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 // 7 p.m. |
| Venue |
North Andover, Mass. // Hammel Court (Tickets) |
| Multimedia |
Watch // Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team looks to return to its winning ways on Thursday evening when the Warriors welcome Mount St. Mary's to campus for Northeast Conference (NEC) action at Hammel Court. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in the programs' first-ever meeting on the hardwood as Division I and NEC foes.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
- A general admission ticket for Sunday's game costs $7
- All faculty/staff, military, senior and youth tickets cost $5
- Seating at Hammel Court is all general admission
- Tickets can be purchased in person or online here
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Mount St. Mary's and Merrimack boast identical 1-1 conference records entering Thursday; the two teams are in a group of six that are 1-1 going into the second week of conference play. The Mount dropped its opener against Wagner, 66-47, before bouncing back to win in double overtime against LIU, 82-73. Three Mountaineers average in double figures in scoring, paced by sophomore Damian Chong Qui (11.9 ppg). Classmate Malik Jefferson has been a force inside, as well, averaging 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Chong Qui and Jefferson are the two lone Mountaineers to start in every game this season.
HISTORY AGAINST MSM
Merrimack and Mount St. Mary's have met on one previous occasion, in 1986 down in Emmitsburg, Md. The Warriors nearly upset the Mountaineers, 82-78, in a road game at the Mount. Thursday's matchup will be the first between the programs in nearly 34 years to the day.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (7-8, 1-1 NEC) |
Mount St. Mary's (5-10, 1-1 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
62.3 |
63.1 |
| Scoring Defense |
62.5 |
66.8 |
| Field-Goal % |
41.0% |
38.6% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
44.2% |
42.3% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
29.9% |
28.0% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
32.6% |
32.6% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
112-374 |
97-347 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
70.2% |
69.4% |
| Winning Percentage |
.462 |
.333 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-9.0 |
+0.2 |
| Assists/Game |
12.3 |
10.5 |
| Steals/Game |
10.1 |
5.3 |
| Turnovers/Game |
11.7 |
12.9 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.5 |
2.9 |
| Total Fouls |
258 |
252 |
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).
THE NEW ASSIST KING
With six helpers on against Boston University earlier this season,
Juvaris Hayes surpassed Darren Duncan '10 as the program's all-time assists leader. Hayes enters Thursday with 826 career helpers, maintaining his career average of 7.7 assists per game. He ranks second in the NEC in assists per game (5.73), trailing only Sacred Heart's Cameron Parker (8.27), who is third nationally in helpers.
PICKING POCKETS & MAKING CHAOS
Hayes debuted spectacularly in NEC play last week, swiping a career-high (in Division I) eight steals against Sacred Heart. He became just the fifth NEC player this century to register an eight-steal performance and posted the 11th-best single-game steal total in league history. He is tied for first nationally in steals with 50. As a team, the Warriors' havoc-creating defense has a league-best +5.20 turnover margin to rank 12th in Division I. Hayes and fellow guard
Mikey Watkins are key components of that: the duo have 82 combined thefts, the most of any duo in the country.
KEEP THOSE PERCENTAGES DOWN
Merrimack's record coincides with the play of its defense: when the Warriors hold their opponents under 40 percent, Merrimack owns a 4-0 record. All seven of Merrimack's victories this season have seen their opponents shoot 48 percent or lower. With the exception of the win at Northwestern, Merrimack has forced at least 16 turnovers in all of its victories too.
Up Next:
The Warriors visit Central Connecticut State University on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off in New Britain, Conn.
