Men’s Basketball Stays Perfect in NEC Play with Win Over Le Moyne

SYRACUSE, N.Y.  – The Merrimack College men's basketball got a gritty four-point victory over Northeast Conference (NEC) newcomer Le Moyne College on Saturday afternoon. Jordan Derkack once again led the Warriors with 19 points and seven rebounds. Adam "Budd" Clark was the only other Merrimack player to score in double figures with 10. Clark also added five assists.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 66, Le Moyne 62
Records: Merrimack (9-8, 3-0 NEC) | Le Moyne (6-10, 1-1 NEC)
Location: Ted Grant Court

Rapid Recap

• The Warriors opened the game on an eight-point run that included five points from Derkack. After the Dolphins closed the gap to three, Jaylen Stinson found the bottom of the net with a three to put Merrimack back up six. With 11 minutes to play in the first half, Jordan McKoy knocked down a three to send the Warriors up nine. Six minutes later a jumper by Devon Savage swelled the lead to 14. After a Le Moyne three, Merrimack went on a seven point run to take an 18-point advantage. The Dolphins then battled back to get the lead back down to 11 points with two and a half minutes to go before halftime. Derkack would score the final four points of the first half to send the Warriors into the locker room up 15.
• Le Moyne opened the second half with a five-point run to cut the advantage to 10. Bryan Etumnu would stop the run with a dunk. Both teams then battled back and forth for a number of minutes. Jacob O'Connell and Savage would hit back-to-back threes to push the lead back up to 17. After a Clark jumper in the paint, the Warriors took their biggest lead of 21 with 10 minutes to play. The Dolphins would then respond going on a 13-point run to cut the lead down to just eight points with four and a half minutes to play. Derkack would hit a jumper to get it back up to 10. Le Moyne responded with five points to cut get the lead down to seven. It was a two possession game with two minutes to play. Some good free throw shooting down the stretch from Derkack, Clark, and McKoy would give the Warriors a four-point victory.

 
Notes and Numbers

• Etumnu scored nine points for the fourth time so far this season.  
• O'Connell had eight points in 23 minutes off the bench in the victory.  
• Merrimack forced 16 Dolphin turnovers. They scored 21 points off the turnovers.

Up Next
The Warriors stay on the road to take on Central Connecticut State University on Monday. Game time is set for 4 p.m.