Men’s Basketball Falls For First Time in Conference Play at Quinnipiac

Hamden, Conn. – The Merrimack College men's basketball team suffered its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) loss of the season at Quinnipiac University on Thursday night 81-76. Adam "Budd" Clark led the way for the Warriors with 20 points. Matt Becht added 19 points after going 5-6 from long range.

The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 76, Quinnipiac 81
Records: Merrimack (8-9, 5-1 MAAC) | Quinnipiac (10-8, 6-1 MAAC)
Location: M&T Bank Arena

Rapid Recap

• The game got off to a furious start with both team knocking down their first two shots, the Warriors were up by one early. Becht then found a lane for a layup to put Merrimack up three. The Bobcats then added 10-points in a row to go up by seven. Becht hit a jumper to stop the run. A layup by Malik Edmead cut the Quinnipiac lead down to four with 11 and a half minutes to go in the first half. Clark then hit two free throws to get the advantage down to one possession. The Bobcats added four straight points to go back up six. Clark drove the lane for two to get the lead down to four. Quinnipiac answered with a three to go up seven. The Bobcats added another three to go up 10 with seven minutes to play. Two free throws from the Warriors got the lead down to eight. Both teams then battled back and forth for a number of minutes. Becht hit a three with four minutes to go to cut the lead to four. Quinnipiac responded with a layup to go up six. Devon Savage hit a three to with under three minutes left in the half to make it a five-point game. The Warriors would head into halftime down by seven.    
• The Bobcats opened the second half on a seven-point run to go up by 14. Clark stopped the run with a free throw. Quinnipiac added four more points to go up by 17. Tye Dorset knocked down a three to get the lead down to 14. The lead bounced between 12 and 10 points for a number of minutes. Down 15 with seven minutes to play, Becht found the bottom of the net with a three to get the lead down to 12. The Bobcats answered with a three of their own to to back up 15. Clark scored four straight points to get the advantage to 11. With three minutes to play in the game, the Warriors were down 12. Sean Trumper and Savage then added four points for Merrimack to cut the lead down to eight. Quinnipiac scored to get the lead to 10 with just over two minutes left in the game. Trumper then hit a three to get it down to seven. Bryan Etumnu followed up with a layup to set the lead to just five. After a Bobcat free throw, Becht launched one from the logo that found the bottom of the net, cutting the lead to one possession. Two free throws from Quinnipiac would ice the game.

Notes and Numbers

• Etumnu finished the game with nine points, six blocks, and five rebounds.
• Edmead had six points in 14 minutes off the bench.
• The Warriors shot 43% from long range, knocking down 10 threes.

Up Next
Merrimack heads home to take on Siena College on Saturday. Game time is set for 3 p,m.