NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team earned its third straight win on Thursday night in a 64-44 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Jordan Minor had his fourth straight 20-point game. He also finished with eight rebounds.
Ziggy Reid added 17 points after playing 28 minutes. The Baltimore native also pulled down seven rebounds.
Malik Edmead added 10 points off of the bench, He also had six assists in the win.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 64, Fairleigh Dickinson 44
Records: Merrimack (12-15, 8-7 NEC) | Fairleigh Dickinson (3-19, 3-9 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Rapid Recap
- Minor scored the first four points of the game of the Warriors. The Knights responded by going on a seven-point run to go up three. Devin Jensen found the bottom of the net with a three to send the Warriors up one. Fairleigh Dickinson answered back with a layup to take back the lead. On the next offensive possession Nick Filchner was found on a backdoor cut by Edmead to take back the lead for Merrimack. Both teams battled back and forth. With nine minutes to play Minor posted up his defender in the lane and scored, giving the Warriors a five-point lead. Reid knocked down a three two minutes later to send Merrimack up six. Jordan McKoy got in on the action from long range, knocking down three with five minutes left to go in the half. Edmead laid one in to go up 10. Fairleigh Dickinson ended the half on an eight-point run to go down two at halftime.
- The Knights came out of the gate and gained a three-point lead. The Warriors responded by scoring 11 in a row to go up by eight. After a timeout, Fairleigh Dickinson cut the lead to six. Minor got the advantage back to double digits after a lay in. Reid followed up Minor with his second three of the game. With six minutes to play, Mikey Watkins found the bottom of the net with his first deep ball. Minor brought the house down with a dunk to send Merrimack up 19 points. The score bounced between 19 and 16 points for a good duration of the final five minutes. The Warriors ended up winning the game by 20 points, which is their biggest margin of victory so far this season in Northeast Conference play.
Notes and Numbers
- Watkins has quietly been putting up excellent assist numbers. In his last four games the Jersey native is averaging 7.5 helpers during the stretch.
- Merrimack scored 36 points in the paint during the victory.
- The Warriors forced 18 Knight turnovers and scored 24 points off the turnovers.
Up Next
The Warriors get back to action on Saturday afternoon for their final home game of the season. Sacred Heart comes to town for senior day. Game time is set for 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
