Men’s Basketball Breaks Division I Program Win Record and Advances to NEC Championship Game for Second Straight Season

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team downed Le Moyne College on Saturday afternoon 61-51. Freshman point guard Adam "Budd" Clark scored a game-high 24 points in the victory. He also had four assists and two steals. Jacob O'Connell added nine points off the bench in nine minutes. The graduate student big man went three-for-four from long range. With the win the Warriors clinched a spot in the NEC championship game for the second straight season.
   
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 61 Le Moyne 51
Records: Merrimack (21-11, 13-3 NEC) | Le Moyne (15-17, 9-7 NEC)

Rapid Recap

After nearly two and a half minutes of scoreless basketball, the Dolphins broke through with a three to get the scoring going. Clark got Merrimack on the board with a jumper to pull within one. Le Moyne added five straight points to go up six. After two free throws from Bryan Etumnu, Le Moyne went on another five-point run to go up nine. An Etumnu jumper followed by a Jordan McKoy three brought the Warriors within four. Down six at the 12-minute mark, O'Connell found the bottom of the net with is first three of the afternoon. After a two-point bucket from the Dolphins, O'Connell knocked down another three to cut the deficit to two. The Warriors then added five points to take their first lead of the game at three. After a Le Moyne score, the Warriors went on an eight-point run to go up double figures. The Dolphins would hit two free throws to head down eight going into the locker room.

Jordan Derkack hit a three on his first shot of the second half to put Merrimack up by 11. Le Moyne clawed back after scoring eight unanswered points to cut the lead down to three. Devon Savage knocked down a three to push the lead back to six. The Dolphins matched the three to go down a possession. Samba Diallo scored on back-to-back Warrior possessions to put the advantage back up to seven. With eight minutes to play Le Moyne found themselves down by three. Savage and O'Connell hit threes with a Le Moyne score in between to make the lead seven. Clark hit a jumper to send the Warriors up nine. Back-to-back threes from Le Moyne cut the lead down to just three with just under six minutes on the clock. Etumnu converted on an and one to make the advantage six. Clark scored the last 10 points for the Warriors to seal the victory in North Andover.    

Top Performers // Notes

Both Derkack and Etumnu led the team with six rebounds.

The victory in Lawler Arena extended the win streak in the building to 12 games dating back to last season.

The Warriors forced 16 Dolphin turnovers.

Up Next:
Merrimack will play the NEC Championship game in Lawler Arena on Tuesday night against Wagner College. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN2.