FAIRFIELD, CONN. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team earned its second victory in as many games on Tuesday tonight in a 70-63 victory over Sacred Heart.
Jordan Minor earned his Northeast Conference (NEC) leading 11
th double-double of the season after scoring 24 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. The Kingston Mass native now has four double-doubles in a row.
Mikey Watkins added 12 points and six assists to his season stat line.
Mykel Derring knocked down three deep balls and two free throws for 11 points. With the win, the Warriors get back to .500 in NEC play.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 70, Sacred Heart 63
Records: Merrimack (11-15, 7-7 NEC) | Sacred Heart (8-17, 4-8 NEC)
Location: Spiro Sports Center | Staten Island, N.Y.
Rapid Recap
- Derring got the scoring going for Merrimack in the first half after knocking down a three. Sacred Heart scored four straight points to take a four-point advantage. Watkins found the bottom of the net with a jumper to pull the Warriors within two. The Pioneers added two points. Nick Filchner scored on a shot from deep to slice the lead to one. Devin Jensen gave Merrimack the lead on a back door cut and lay in. Sacred Heart added three points to take the lead back and go up by two. Minor scored after a post move to tie the game up at 12. The Pioneers scored five unanswered points to take back the lead for the time being. The Warriors responded by going on a 6-0 run to take the lead right back. With just under five minutes to play both teams had 20 points. Merrimack then went on a seven-point run to go up six. With under a minute to play Jensen knocked down back-to-back threes to send the Warriors into the locker room up 13 points.
- The second half started with a Minor post over for two to send the Warriors up by 15. Sacred Heart knocked down a three to cut the lead to 12. Watkins responded with three points the old-fashioned way to go back up by 15. After a dunk by Minor, Sacred Heart went on a six-point run and decrease the lead to eight. Ziggy Reid ended the scoreless drought with his first two-points of the game. Two possessions later he knocked down a three to give him five second half points. After two Pioneer free throws, Derring found a deep three to give the Warriors a 14-point lead. Sacred Heart added five-points. Minor scored on a layup to go back up 11. The Pioneers added four-points to go down seven with six minutes to play. Both teams battled, but the Warriors did not let the lead get under five points. With some good free throw shooting at the end of the game the Warriors won the game by seven points.
Notes and Numbers
- With his double-double tonight, Minor now ranks in the top 20 in the country in the category.
- The Warriors forced 15 Pioneer turnovers and scored 13 points off the them.
- Merrimack scored 36 points in the paint during the victory.
- The Warriors remain undefeated when shooting better than 50% from the field after shooting 51% in Fairfield.
Up Next
The Warriors get back to action on Thursday night when Fairleigh Dickinson visits Hammel Court for the first time this season. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on NEC Front Row.
