NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team shot the lights out at Hammel Court right before the New Year. The Warriors made a season-high 17 threes, shooting 65% from long range.
Jordan McKoy had a career-high 21 points after finding the bottom of the net seven times. The Westwood, N.J. native also led the team in rebounds with six.
Mikey Watkins scoring 16 points while running the point for the Warriors. He also got in on the action from deep, finding nylon on four shots.
Malik Edmead and
Jordan Minor scoring 12 each.
Ziggy Reid who was in foul trouble for a good portion of the second half scored 10.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 82, St. Long Island 77
Records: Merrimack (7-8) | Long Island (3-9)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Edmead and Minor got the scoring going for the Warriors, who went up six early on in the first. Minor scored again to maintain the six-point lead after a bucket from LIU. Watkins knocked down a three and then McKoy hit back-to-back threes to put the Warriors up 13. The Sharks battled back to cut the Merrimack lead to 10. Mykel Derring scored his first points of the game to put Merrimack back up 10. LIU clawed back to make it a two-possession game. Watkins made a three and then Reid found the bottom of the net twice from deep to make the lead 11. McKoy got his fourth deep ball of the game with just under six minutes left in the first half. Derring dialed one up from three to make the lead 15. As time was expiring in the first half, Nick Filchner got in on the action and hit a buzzer beater from long range to send Merrimack into halftime with a 17-point lead. The Warriors had 11 first half three-pointers.
- Minor struck first in the second half with a lay in to put Merrimack up 19. The Sharks cut the lead to 14 after back-to-back buckets. McKoy stayed hot from the first half and scored on a three. With the advantage cut to 12, Derring got his second three of the game to go back up by 15. With just over 11 minutes left in the game, LIU cut the lead to single digits for the first time of the second half. Both teams traded buckets for a number of possessions. A Watkins layup put the lead at 13 with six minutes to play. The Sharks battled and got the Warrior advantage to a two-possession game with four minutes left. A layup by Edmead and some good free throw shooting from Watkins solidified the win for the Warriors by five.
Notes and Numbers
- The 17 threes that the Warriors knocked down this afternoon is the most since the Warriors shot and scored 20 against Lesley in 2019.
- With two conference wins the Warriors now sit tied at the top of the Northeast Conference leaderboard.
- Merrimack shot 62% from the field, which is their best shooting performance so far this season.
Up Next
The Warriors get back next Thursday when they head down to New Jersey to take on Fairleigh Dickinson. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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