STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team headed down to Staten Island and beat Wagner College on Saturday afternoon in overtime. Going into the game, the Seahawks had the longest winning streak in the country at 14 games. The Warriors scored an outrageous 22 points in the final five-minute stanza to win the game by 15.
Jordan Minor earned his 10
th double-double of the season after scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Minor went 9-13 from the field and knocked down three shots from the line.
Ziggy Reid added 19 points, including one of the biggest threes of the game in overtime.
Malik Edmead scored 18 points. The Deer Park native had seven points in overtime and set the pace for the Merrimack victory.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 80, Wagner 65
Records: Merrimack (10-15, 6-7 NEC) | Wagner (17-3, 11-1 NEC)
Location: Spiro Sports Center | Staten Island, N.Y.
Rapid Recap
- Reid got the scoring going for the Warriors after posting up his defender. The Seahawks then went up by two. Minor tied the game on a dunk after the look by Mikey Watkins. Reid score his fourth point of the game on a jumper to send the Warriors up by two. Both teams battled to a tie score at 8, heading into the under 12 media timeout. Minor was the first to score out of the timeout, giving the Merrimack a two-point advantage. Watkins sent the Warriors up by five on his first three of the afternoon. Wagner countered with an eight-point run to go up by one with six minutes to play. Edmead knocked down a jumper to put Merrimack up by one again. The Seahawks went up by four with just under two minutes left until halftime. Edmead and Watkins combined for a five-point run to end the half and send both teams into the locker rooms with the Warriors up one.
- Minor opened up the scoring in the second half after slashing in the paint for two, giving Merrimack a three-point lead. A dunk by Reid a couple of possessions later had the Warriors looking at a five-point advantage with 16 minutes to play. Wagner cut it to four. Merrimack then went on an eight-point run, highlighted by a Mykel Derring three that sent the team from North Andover up 12. The Seahawks answered by going on a 10-point run of their own to slice the lead to two with around 10 minutes left. A jumper by Minor got the lead back up to four. Wagner tied the game at 42 after a layup. With the game tied at 48, Watkins knocked down two free throws to give the Warriors a two-point lead. The Seahawks tied the game up 50 on the next possession. Merrimack found themselves down four with three minutes to play. Reid found the bottom of the net with two free to make it a one possession game. Wagner responded with a jumper, going back up four. Minor found a lane for two, Watkins had the assist. With 49 seconds to play Edmead took it to the basket and laid it in to tie the game at 58. There were no points scored in the final 45 seconds, sending the game into overtime.
- Merrimack opened overtime with five straight points, giving them a lead right out of the gate. Minor had a thunderous dunk and Edmead knocked a deep three. Wagner answered with a bucket to go down by three. Watkins found the bottom of the net with a jumper and Edmead laid one in to go up seven. Two free throws by Wagner got it to five. Reid responded with a jumper on the next offensive possession to go up seven with a minute and forty-five seconds to play. The Warriors finished the game on a 11-2 run, giving Merrimack a marquee victory in Northeast Conference (NEC) play.
Notes and Numbers
- Merrimack shot 56% from the field. The Warriors are now 4-0 when they shoot over 50% from the field.
- The Warriors forced 19 Seahawk turnover and scored 16 points off the them.
- Merrimack scored 40 points in the paint during the victory.
- The matchup between Wagner and Merrimack had 12 lead changes and was tied 13 times.
Up Next
The Warriors get back to action on Tuesday night for a makeup game down at Sacred Heart. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on NEC Front Row.
