| Matchup |
Merrimack (19-10, 13-3 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (10-18, 6-9 NEC) |
| Date/Time |
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 // 3 p.m. |
| Venue |
Emmitsburg, Md. // Knott Arena |
| Multimedia |
NEC Front Row | Live Stats |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball aims for at least a share of the NEC Regular Season Championship on Sunday afternoon when the Warriors visit Mount St. Mary's. A win will do just that as the Warriors enter Sunday in contention with Saint Francis University and Robert Morris for the league's top spot. Merrimack can win the title outright with a victory combined with losses by both the Red Flash and the Colonials tomorrow. Tip-off against the Mountaineers is set for 3 p.m. at Knott Arena.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Mount St. Mary's comes into Sunday's game on a five-game losing streak and losers of six of seven games this month. The Mountaineers won four straight games towards the end of January, and have since slumped to a 1-7 record since Jan. 30. The Mount is part of a four-way tie for sixth place in the NEC with three games left in the regular season. Eight teams make the conference tournament at season's end.
HISTORY AGAINST MSM
The first meeting of the regular season between Merrimack and Mount St. Mary's was the second ever and first on the Warriors' campus. The first game between the two programs occurred in 1986. Fast forward to 2020, and Sunday will be the first game between the two in Emmitsburg as Division I foes. In the first game this season, Merrimack clawed out a 64-61 win.
Matchup Comparison:
| Category |
Merrimack (19-10, 13-3 NEC) |
Mount St. Mary's (10-18, 6-9 NEC) |
| Scoring Offense |
62.8 |
63.9 |
| Scoring Defense |
60.1 |
64.8 |
| Field-Goal % |
42.0% |
39.8% |
| Field-Goal % Defense |
42.4% |
43.1% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % |
33.9% |
30.9% |
| 3-PT Field Goal % Defense |
30.7% |
35.3% |
| 3-PT Field Goals (Made-Attempts) |
230-678 |
186-601 |
| Free-Throw Percentage |
67.8% |
69.0% |
| Winning Percentage |
.655 |
.357 |
| Rebounding Margin |
-7.5 |
+0.8 |
| Assists/Game |
12.9 |
11.1 |
| Steals/Game |
10.1 |
4.9 |
| Turnovers/Game |
12.1 |
11.8 |
| Blocks/Game |
2.8 |
3.2 |
| Total Fouls |
488 |
457 |
MOST WINS EVER!
After last Thursday's victory at St. Francis Brooklyn, the men's basketball team set a new NCAA record for wins by a first-year program reclassifying to Division I. The Warriors bested Cal Baptist's 16-win mark last year to establish the new record. Eighteen of the Warriors' 19 wins are against DI competition; last year, Cal Baptist only had 12 triumphs over DI foes. The Warriors are bidding to become the second first-year program reclassifying to Division I to win a Regular Season Conference Championship. Birmingham Southern accomplished the feat in the Big South in 2003-04.
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 are eligible for select postseason tournament such as the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the College Insider Tournament (CIT).
JUVARIS NEARING THE STEALS RECORD
Senior point guard
Juvaris Hayes is closing in on NCAA history. Hayes needs just one steal on Sunday to set a new NCAA record, previously held by Tennyson Whitted of Ramapo College (DII). Hayes needs to reach 449 to break it; he enters this weekend with 448 thefts including a Division I high 112 steals in 2019-20, averaging nearly four steals per game.
THE NEW ASSIST KING
With six helpers on against Boston University on Sunday, Dec. 29, Hayes surpassed Darren Duncan '10 as the program's all-time assists leader. Hayes enters Tuesday with 941 career helpers. He moved into the NEC lead recently, and now has a conference-leading 187 assists on the season. He recently became the 22nd player in NCAA history with 900 career assists.
PUTTING THE NEC IN THE ZONE
Led by the nation's leader in steals in
Juvaris Hayes (112), the Warriors' defense has dominated during NEC play. The Warriors led the conference in turnover margin (+5.5) and steals per game (10.1), averaging nearly three more steals than any other team. Merrimack also has the league's best scoring defense at 60.1 points per game including 58.2 in league games. Nationally, Merrimack ranks first in steal rate, fourth in steals per game and turnover rate.
THE RETURN OF THE ROAD WARRIORS
The Warriors became the first NEC team since Wagner in 2017-18 to sweep the daunted "Western PA" trip to Robert Morris and Saint Francis. The Warriors have nine true road victories on the year, sitting in a tie for third in the nation in road wins. Merrimack needs one more win on the road to become the first NEC team since 2015-16 with double-digit road victories.
MOST WINS IN MASSACHUSETTS
Merrimack begins the weekend with 19 victories on the season, the most of the eight Division I basketball schools in Massachusetts. The Warriors have one more win than Harvard, who sits in second with 18 triumphs. The Warriors also have the third most victories in all of New England, trailing only Vermont (22) and Yale (20). Merrimack and Rhode Island share the third spot at 19 wins
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Merrimack is tied with Illinois State and East Tennessee State with eight different leading scorers on the season. Senior
Jaleel Lord leads Merrimack by leading the team in scoring eight times this season. Merrimack has had a different leading scorer in five of its last six games.
Up Next:
Merrimack celebrates Senior Night on Thursday at Hammel Court with Central Connecticut State University comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Warriors will honor the careers of
Juvaris Hayes,
Jaleel Lord and
Idris Joyner – the winningest class in program history.
