BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team lost its first game in over two weeks on Thursday night to Long Island University.
Mikey Watkins led the way for the Warriors, scoring 15 points. The Jersey native also had six assists and five rebounds.
Malik Edmead added 14 points off the bench in the defeat.
Ziggy Reid was the third Merrimack player in double figures with 13 on the night.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 74, Long Island 85
Records: Merrimack (13-16, 9-8 NEC) | Long Island (14-13, 11-6 NEC)
Location: Wellness Center | Brookville, N.Y.
Rapid Recap
- The Sharks started the game by scoring the first five points. Reid ended the run after knocking down two free throws. After another Long Island bucket, Reid added a jumper to put the Warriors down three. The Sharks matched the jumper. Watkins knocked down a three to put Merrimack down two. Long Island added seven unanswered points to take their biggest lead of the game of nine. Two Jordan Minor free throws and a Watkins three on back-to-back possession decreased the lead to four. A couple minutes later, Edmead found the bottom of the net with a three to go down by one. With eight minutes to play the Sharks found themselves up seven. Reid hit a step back from beyond the arc to go down by four. After a Shark bucket, Watkins knocked down a jumper, cutting the lead to four. Long Island then added 11 unanswered points to jump ahead by 15. Minor ended the run with a post move. Jordan McKoy knocked his first three of the game slicing the lead to 10. The Sharks took a 15-point lead into halftime.
- The Sharks opened the second half with a bucket to take a 17-point advantage. Mykel Derring found the bottom of the net for his first three of the night cut it to 14. Both teams matched each other blow for blow. A Nick Filchner three with 15 minutes to play cut the lead to 16. On the next offensive possession, Derring found his second from deep slicing it to 13. Long Island knocked down back-to-back threes on two straight offensive possessions. With 10 minutes to play the Warriors found themselves down 20. Reid hit a jumper to go down 18. Edmead hit a jumper to put Merrimack back down 20 with seven minutes left. Filchner cut it to 16 with his second three of the night. A tough up and under by Watkins decreased the advantage by two. Derring hit another three to make it a 13-point game with four minutes to play. Long Island got the lead back up to 17 with just under two minutes left in the game. James Berry III and Edmead combined for a six-point run at the end of the game.
Notes and Numbers
- The Warriors forced 13 Shark turnovers and scored 21 points off of them.
- Merrimack scored 28 points in the paint.
- The Warriors scored 28 points in the paint and 16 points off of fast breaks
Up Next
Merrimack concludes its 2021-22 regular season with a matchup at St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on NEC Front Row.
