Men’s Basketball Holds Off Sacred Heart Friday

Fairfield, Conn. –  The Merrimack College men's basketball beat Sacred Heart University on Friday afternoon 66-65. The Warriors were led by Adam "Budd" Clark who scored 23 points. The sophomore guard also had five rebounds and five assists in the victory. Bryan Etumnu was the only other Merrimack player in double figures with 12 points after going a perfect five for five from the field in the win.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 66, Sacred Heart 65
Records: Merrimack (7-8, 4-0 MAAC) | Sacred Heart (6-9, 2-2 MAAC)
Location: Pitt Center

Rapid Recap

• The Warriors started the game off explosively on offense, scoring the first nine points of the game. Clark had four points in the run. The Pioneers answered back with four-points of their own to cut the lead down to five. With 13 minutes left in the first, Devon Savage found the bottom of the net with a three, making it a seven-point lead. Two minutes later, Sacred Heart had the lead down to four. Malik Edmead then hit a three to send the advantage up to seven. With eight minutes to play, the Pioneers got the lead down to one possession. The Warriors got the lead back up to five after a three-point play by Etumnu. After Sacred Heart got the lead down to one, Clark hit a three to make it a four-point game. The Pioneers found a lane for two, making it a two-point game. Clark then hit another three to push the lead to five. The Warriors went on a seven-point run to end the half to go into halftime up 11.
• The Pioneers scored the first six-points of the second half to get the lead down to five. Sean Trumper and Matt Becht then hit back-to-back threes to get the advantage back up to double figures. Sacred Heart answered by scoring six-points of their own to make it a four-point game. Trumper stopped the run with a layup. Clark added a layup of his own to make it an eight-point game. After some back and forth from both teams, Armandas Plintauskas hit a three to push the lead to 10. The Pionners battled back, with five minutes to go in the game, Merrimack was up six. Up four, Plintauskas hit another three to make it a seven-pint game with three and a half minutes to go. Clark hit two free throws to get the lead to nine. Sacred Heart went on a seven-point run to make it a one possession game with under a minute to play. The Warriors fended off the comeback from the Pioneers down the stretch and won the game by one point.

Notes and Numbers

• The victory over Sacred Heart gave Joe Gallo 150 for his Merrimack career.
• The Warriors forced 16 turnovers and scored 15 points off the giveaways.  
• Savage, Plintauskas, and Edmead all finished the game with six points.

Up Next
Merrimack will head home to take on Manhattan on Sunday afternoon. Game time is set for 2 p.m.