Men’s Basketball Captures Second Regular Season Northeast Conference Title in Victory Over Central Connecticut

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – For the second time in four years the Merrimack College men's basketball team won the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title in a 70-54 win over Central Connecticut State University. Jordan Minor earned his 13th double-double of the season after scoring a team-high 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Devon Savage continued to stay hot from long range, scoring 15 points after knocking down five threes. Javon Bennett dropped 14 points in the victory. The freshman from Orlando also had five assists and five steals. Ziggy Reid was the fourth Warrior in double figures, scoring 13 points.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 70, Central Connecticut 54
Records: Merrimack (14-16, 11-4 NEC) Central Connecticut (10-20, 7-8 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack jumped out to an early seven-point lead after a three from Savage and four points from Minor. A Bennett three a few minutes later put the Warriors up eight after a few Blue Devil buckets. Reid then scored four straight points to put Merrimack up 13. Savage nailed another three with 11 and a half minutes to go in the first half to go up by 14. The sophomore guard would hit another three to go up 17. Jordan McKoy would find the bottom of the net from deep, putting the Warriors up 20. Central Connecticut would battle back cutting the lead to 19 before halftime.
• A Bennett jumper would get the scoring going for Merrimack in the second half. The home team found themselves up 21. A Bennett three, two minutes into the second half gave the Warriors a 24-point lead. Reid would then hit a jumper to put Merrimack up 26. With 13 minutes to play the Blue Devils were down by 20. Jaylen Stinson would sneak by his defender to put Merrimack back up 22. Central Connecticut would cut the deficit to 15 with eight minutes to play. Bennett would hit a three to stop the run. The Blue Devils would get the lead down to 15, but could not compete the comeback. Merrimack would win the game by 16 points.

Notes and Numbers

• The other Merrimack regular season title came during the 2019-20 season, which was the school's first year of transition into Division I.
• The Warriors shot 47% from the field and 44% from long range.
• Merrimack had 13 steals.

Up Next
The Warriors finish the regular season on Saturday afternoon when the squad heads to New York to take on Long Island. Game time is set for 1 p.m.