NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team suffered its first Northeast Conference (NEC) loss of the season to Saint Francis (PA) on Saturday afternoon, 62-46. The Warriors were led in scoring by
Malik Edmead who had 13 points. The sophomore guard also had five assists and three steals.
Jordan Minor finished with a double-double scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. The Kingston, Mass native also had four steals and two blocks on the afternoon.
James Berry III chipped in with seven points off of the bench.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 46, Saint Francis (PA) 62
Records: Merrimack (8-9, 4-1 NEC) | Saint Francis (PA) (5-11, 1-4 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- The Warriors started off the game on fire going on an 11-1 run in the first five minutes. Minor, Reid, and Mikey Watkins combined for the 11 points, causing a Red Flash timeout. Saint Francis battled back, cutting the lead down to six. Minor found the bottom of the net on a jumper to put Merrimack back up by eight. The Red Flash then scored 20 unanswered points to flip the game and go up by 12. A Ziggy Reid free throw ended the scoreless drought for the Warriors. A jumper by Edmead with just over three minutes left in the first half cut the Saint Francis lead to 13. Edmead scored again on a jumper towards the end of the half to send Merrimack into the locker room down 11.
- After a Red Flash jumper to start the second half, Watkins found the bottom of the net with a jumper of his own to go down 12. Saint Francis then went on a 5-0 run to go up 17. A Minor lay in trimmed the lead down to 15. The Red Flash scored seven unanswered to go up by 22 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. A free throw by Minor and two by Berry III cut the lead to under 20 with nine minutes left. Two minutes later Berry III hit his first corner three of the game sending Merrimack down 21. With six and a half minutes to play Edmead went on a 6-0 by himself to decrease the Saint Francis lead to 18. Two Berry III free throws and a layup by Minor made the Red Flash lead 16 with three minutes left. Nick Filchner knocked down his first triple to put the Warriors down 15. The comeback efforts were not enough and Merrimack suffered its first home NEC loss of the season.
Notes and Numbers
- The Warriors scored 16 points off of fast breaks, compared to six from Saint Francis.
- Minor earned his fifth double-double of the season in the loss on Saturday afternoon.
- Berry III is a perfect 6-6 from the line so far this season. He scored four times from the line this afternoon.
Up Next
Merrimack stays at home to take on Mount St Mary's on Monday afternoon. Game time is set for 3 p.m. and can be seen on NEC Front Row.
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