Men's Basketball Opens MAAC Play With Victory Over Canisius

Buffalo, N.Y. –  The Merrimack College men's basketball team opened Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play with a victory over Canisius University on Friday night 60-52. Adam "Budd" Clark finished the game with 22 points.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 60, Canisius 52
Records: Merrimack (3-6) | Canisius (0-8)
Location: Koessler Athletic Center

Rapid Recap

• The Griffins got the scoring going with a three. Clark responded with a layup to cut the lead down to two. Canisius hit a three to go up by four. Devon Savage found the bottom of the net with a three to get the lead down to one. Matt Becht hit his first three of the night to tie the game at eight. The Griffins then jumped on an eight-point run to go up eight. The Warriors then answered with a five-point run of their own to cut the lead down to three. After back and forth play from both teams, Merrimack was down two with four minutes to go in the first half. Canisius would head into halftime up seven.
• Becht and Savage traded threes to start the second half, getting the deficit quickly down to one. Three minutes into the second half, the Griffins found themselves up by three. Clark then tied the game at 31. Both teams went back and forth for a handful of minutes, tying the game on multiple occasions. A Becht three with eight minutes to play put the Warriors up by five. Canisius battled back to tie the game at 44 with six minutes left in the game. Free throws from both teams tied the game at 46. Becht found the bottom of the net with a three to put Merrimack up by five. Good free throw shooting down the stretch gave the Warriors their first MAAC win of the season.  

Notes and Numbers

• Becht finished with 12 points. Savage added 11 points in the victory.  
• Trumper led the team in rebounds with 12 in the win.
• In addition to his 22 points, Clark had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Up Next
Merrimack stays on the road to take on Niagara. Game time is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.