Men's Basketball Tripped Up at Florida

GAINESVILLE, FLA.  – The Merrimack College men's basketball team lost its Tuesday night matchup with the University of Florida 77-57. Both Samba Diallo and Jordan Derkack finished the game with a team-high 14 points. Derkack bettered Diallo in rebounds by three after grabbing nine. Adam "Budd" Clark was the only other Warrior in double figures with 11 points in the loss.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 57, Florida 77
Records: Merrimack (4-6) | Florida (5-3)
Location: Exactech Arena

Rapid Recap

• After the Gators started off the game with a layup, Diallo knocked down a three to give the Warriors an early one-point lead. Three free throws from Derkack would put Merrimack up by four. Two minutes later, Florida would tie the game at six. The Warriors then went on a nine-point run to go up three scores. Jacob O'Connell hit a three to swing the momentum for Merrimack. After the Gators cut the lead down to seven, Devon Savage hit his first three of the night to put the Warriors up double digits. After some back and forth play from both teams, Merrimack found themselves up 10 with nine minutes to go until halftime. Florida then went on a seven-point run to slice the Warriors advantage to three. Clark stopped the run with a jumper in the paint. With three and a half minutes to play in the first half, Diallo found a lane for two, putting Merrimack up four. Florida then went on a five-point run to go up by one. Bryan Etumnu would hit a layup to put the Warriors on top by one heading into halftime.
• Florida started the second half on a four-point run to go up by three. Etumnu ended the run with a dunk. Diallo would score four straight points to put Merrimack up by three early in the second. With 16 minutes to play Florida tied the game at 37. The Gators then went on a 17-point run. Derkack found a lane and stopped the run with a layup. With eight minutes to play the lead swelled to 21. A Clark layup with four minutes to play would cut the lead down to 15, which is the lowest it would get for the rest of the game. Merrimack would end up losing by 20.

 
Notes and Numbers

• Merrimack scored 30 points in the paint in the loss.
• Jaylen Stinson had a career-high five rebounds.
• The Warriors forced 13 Gator turnovers. They scored eight points off the turnovers.

Up Next
Merrimack will head back home to take on Felician University on Saturday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.