GAINESVILLE, FL - Merrimack plays at defending National Champion and No. 9 ranked Florida on Friday at 7 p.m.
THE LATEST
• For the fourth time in the first five games, Merrimack is back on the road. The Warriors opened the season with fourth-straight road games, the first three in the Central Time Zone. After a short bus ride to Boston for the win over Boston University on Saturday, the Warriors played their first home game Wednesday with a win over Maine. But Merrimack starts another four-game road swing Friday as they play 8 of their first 9 games away from home. Three weeks into the season, Merrimack has traveled over 10,000 miles.
• Freshman Kevair Kennedy is off to a impressive start to his collegiate career. Kennedy scored a career-high 23 points, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists in the win over Maine on Wednesday.
• Merrimack swept the MAAC weekly men's basketball awards with junior Ernest Shelton earning the conference's Player of the Week and freshman Kevair Kennedy being named the league's Rookie of the Week. And the two award winner were teammates at Father Judge High School in Philadelphia. After a breakout performance (23 points) at Auburn the week prior, Shelton shot 57 percent, made 12 three-pointers and averaged 25.6 points per game in two games last week. In the win against BU, Shelton had a career-high 33 points, making 10-of-13 field goals and tying a school-record with 9 three pointers (9-12). Kennedy averaged 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games last week. The freshman from Philadelphia was two assists shy of a triple-double in the win at Boston University, with career highs in points (16), rebounds (11) and assists (8). Kennedy made 5-of-10 field goals and added two steals in the win over the Terriers.
• Division II transfer Ernest Shelton, who averaged 17.4 points and 4.5 rebounds for Gannon University last season, is leading the Warriors in scoring at 21.0 points per game. He is shooting 47.7 percent from behind the arc (21-44) and has scored 20 or more points in three of the five games and at least 14 points in every game. He has made 20 three-pointers in the last three games.
• Freshman Kevair Kennedy, the Max Preps Pennsylvania HS Player of the Year last season, is averaging 13.2 ppg and has scored in double-figures in 4 of 5 games.
• Merrimack tied the MAAC record for three-pointers in a game, making 19 three-pointers in the win over BU on Saturday.
