Men’s Basketball Earns Tenth Straight Victory and Spot in NEC Championship Game with Win Over Sacred Heart

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team earned its first trip to the Northeast Conference tournament final on Saturday night after beating Sacred Heart University 71-60. The win was also the Warrior's tenth straight victory, which is a Division I program record. Jordan Minor had 18 points to lead Merrimack in scoring. He also grabbed 12 rebounds. Javon Bennett scored one fewer point then Minor and had five assists, which was best on the team. Ziggy Reid added 15 points after knocking down five shots from the field, including a three. Devon Savage was the fourth Merrimack play in double figures with 12 points on the night.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 71, Sacred Heart 60
Records: Merrimack (17-16, 12-4 NEC) Sacred Heart (16-17, 8-8 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court

Rapid Recap
● Savage opened the game with a three to give the Warriors a quick lead. Sacred Heart then tied the game at three. Down three, Jordan McKoy knocked down a three from the corner to tie the game at seven. Both teams battled back and forth. Merrimack would then go on a nine-point run to go up by seven. The Pioneers would knock down a three to cut it down to four. Bennett would knock down a three to put the Warriors up eight with eight minutes to play in the first half. Sacred Heart trimmed the lead to five. A Minor layup with four minutes to play swelled the lead back up to nine for Merrimack. Sacred Heart went on an eight-point run to cut the advantage to one. Jordan Derkack and Bennett combined for a four-point run to send the Warriors into halftime up by five.

● Merrimack started the second half on a six-point run, which gave them their biggest lead of the game to that point at 11. The Pioneers slashed the lead back down to seven. The Warrior lead was seven after a Minor dunk with 12 minutes to play. Merrimack then went on a nine-point run to go up by 16 points. A Bennett three with four and a half minutes to play gave the Warriors an 18 point advantage. Sacred Heart got the lead down to as low as 11, but could not complete the comeback, ending their season.

Notes and Numbers
● Minor also finished with six blocks in the victory.
● The Warriors only had eight turnovers. They forced 18 and scored 24 points off the turnovers.
● Merrimack had 14 steals. Bennett finished with six.

Up Next
The Warriors will be back in action for the NEC Championship game on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson University. The game will be played in Lawler Arena and can be seen on ESPN2.