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Postgame Press Conference
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team saw Sacred Heart University outscore the Warriors by 12 points in the second half, erasing Merrimack's six-point halftime lead on Friday evening to claim a 68-62 win at Hammel Court. The Northeast Conference defeat dropped the Warriors to 1-1 (1-1 NEC) on the year while Sacred Heart improved to 3-4 (3-3 NEC).
Sacred Heart used a 25-10 run at the start of the second half to create a 51-42 advantage. From there, the Warriors used a 10-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from sophomore
Mykel Derring to tie the game at 52-all. The visitors, however, responded with a game-deciding 12-2 stretch that brought their lead back to 10, 64-54, which proved insurmountable for Merrimack.
Derring led the way with 13 points while freshman
Malik Edmead chipped in 10 of the bench. Sacred Heart's 42-point second half was aided by a 50-percent shooting clip (11-22), including 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Tyler Thomas led all scorers with 22 points for the Pioneers.
The Essentials
Score: Sacred Heart 68,
Merrimack 62
Records: Merrimack (1-1, 1-1 NEC) | Sacred Heart (3-4, 3-3 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Sophomore Jordan McKoy entered off the bench to hit two 3-pointers as part of a 10-3 run that gave Merrimack a 17-11 lead with 11:08 left in the first half. Edmead came in off the pine as well, chipping in six points of his own to generate a 23-15 edge with 7:50 remaining in the first half
- Sophomore Ziggy Reid hit a 3-pointer to make it a 28-18 Warriors advantage, but the Pioneers scored eight of the next 10 points to close within four, 30-26, with five seconds left in the opening stanza. Edmead had the last laugh, however, as the rookie raced the full-length of the floor to hit a runner that beat the halftime buzzer. Merrimack took a 32-26 advantage to the locker room
- Sacred Heart used the first six minutes of the second half to go on a 21-9 run, taking a 47-41 lead with 13:42 remaining. The visitors' lead sat a 51-42 when a 7-0 Merrimack run capped by consecutive layups for senior Devin Jensen brought the Warriors within two, 51-49, with 7:34 left in regulation
- Derring curled off a screen during an out-of-bounds play to tie the game at 52-apiece, but the Pioneers surged back with a 6-0 run to go in front, 58-52, with under five minutes to go.
- The visitors' lead grew to 10 (64-54) with under three minutes remaining, but the Warriors had one more push. Buckets from Reid and Jensen in a nine-second span capped off a 6-0 burst that saw Merrimack trim its deficit to four, 64-60, with 92 seconds left. The rally ended there, however, as the Pioneers held on for the 68-62 win
Notes and Numbers
- Merrimack's record stands at 3-1 against Sacred Heart through two seasons of Division I opponents. The Warriors beat the Pioneers twice in 2019-20
- Eight of Edmead's 10 points came in the first half. The freshman guard scored 27 points in the two games against Sacred Heart
- Derring has hit three 3-pointers in each of his first two games last season. As a rookie last year, he made at least three triples in a single game on just four occasions
- Sophomore Jordan Minor chipped in nine points and seven rebounds, making a bid for his second straight double-double
- Watkins added seven points, six rebounds and five assists
- Sacred Heart hit 52.4 percent of its 3-pointers (11-21) compared to 27.3 percent from Merrimack (6-22)
Up Next
The Warriors will travel to Mount St. Mary's next week for a pair of NEC contests on Thursday (Jan. 14) and Friday (Jan. 15) in Emmitsburg, Md.
