Princeton, N.J. - The Merrimack College men's basketball team edged the Princeton Tigers 59–56 on Wednesday, driven by from Philly area standouts
Ernest Shelton,
Kevair Kennedy, and
Tye Dorset.
The Warriors were trailing 54-52 with just over a minute remaining when Dorsett drained a 3-pointer to give Merrimack the lead. After Princeton retook a 56-55 advantage, Dorsett got fouled with32 seconds left and made both free throws to put the Warriors up for good. Freshman
Dylan Veillette blocked a layup with eight seconds left and came down with the game clinching rebound. After being fouled Veillette sank both free throws solidifying the Warrior victory.
"What a great road win. Not a lot of people have come into this gym over the last 50 years and left with a W," Merrimack head coach
Joe Gallo said. "We could have folded when Princeton took their first lead of the second half with about 4 minutes to go. But we strung together some stops, executed and made our free throws. That's a sign of what can be a really good team."
Shelton led the Warriors with 16 points, making four shots from the field, two of which came from 3-point range. Shelton hit six free throw shots as he has now finished with double-digit point totals in 9 of his first 12 games.
"I want to give a shoutout to my teammates for getting me in the best position possible, but shots were falling today and that was great." Shelton said.
Kennedy, who was Shelton's teammate at Philadelphia's Father Judge High School, and is the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week, scored 14 points, making all eight of his free throws. Kennedy added six rebounds and four assists to go with his 10th straight 10+ point effort.
Dorset scored five of his 11 points in the final 1:07, shooting 4-of-9 from the field. He led the team in steals with three to go with his one block.
The Warriors head north to take on Vermont this Sunday for their final non-conference matchup of the regular season. Tipoff from Burlington is at 2 p.m.
