Career High From Derkack Pushes Men’s Basketball Past Worcester State

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. –  The Merrimack College men's basketball team won its first game of the season on Thursday night against Worcester State University. Jordan Derkack had a career-high 26 points in the victory. The sophomore guard also grabbed seven rebounds and had five steals. Adam "Budd" Clark was the second leading scorer for the Warriors with 11 points. The freshman point guards also had six steals and five assists. Devon Savage was the lone Merrimack player with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in the win.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 93, Worcester State 72
Records: Merrimack (1-1) | Worcester State (0-1)
Location: Hammel Court

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack jumped out to a quick three-point lead a after a deep ball from Samba Diallo found the bottom of the net. The Lancers would battle back to take a two-point lead with just over 13 minutes to play in the half. Derkack would drive to the hoop and score to cut the Worcester State lead one with eight minutes left before halftime. A Derkack dunk with five minutes on the clock gave the Warriors a six-point advantage. Savage would hit his first three of the night with a minute and half left before halftime, sending Merrimack up 13. A late Lancer three would make the deficit 10 heading into the second half.
• The Warriors would score 10 of the first 11 second half points to swell the lead up to 17. A Derkack layup, followed by a Bryan Etumnu dunk gave Merrimack a 21-point lead with 15 minutes left in the game. Armandas Plintauskas would hit his first three of the night to put Merrimack up by 24. Worcester State would trim the lead to 14 with 10 minutes to play in the game. The Warriors then added five straight points to go up 19. The lead would bounce around the 17-19 mark for a number of minutes, until Jaylen Stinson hit a three to put Merrimack up 20. The Warriors would end up winning the game by 21.

 Notes and Numbers

• The Merrimack defense forced 23 turnovers and had 18 steals in the win.
• Diallo and Etumnu also scored in double figures with 10 points each.
• Merrimack scored 58 of its 93 points in the paint.

Up Next
The Warriors get back to action on Sunday night at the University of Maine. Tip is set for 4 p.m.