NORTH ANDOVER, MA - The Merrimack men's basketball team hosts Rider for Dollar Hot Dog Night and a Blue Out and t-shirt giveaway on Thursday night at 7 p,m. in Lawler Arena.
THE LATEST
• Merrimack opens its second season of the MAAC play Thursday night hosting Rider at 7 pm. Merrimack is 1-0 in MAAC openers, getting a 60-52 victory in its first-ever MAAC game at Canisius last Dec. 6. The Warriors are also 1-0 in MAAC home openers, having defeated Fairfield 67-54 on Jan. 3, 2025.
• Merrimack won its first five MAAC games last season on the way to a 14-6 conference record, which was good for second place in the standings. The Warriors advanced to the semifinals in Atlantic City.
• The Warriors are coming off a 66-60 victory over La Salle of the Atlantic 10 on Sunday in the final game of the Cathedral Classic. Ernest Shelton led the Warriors with 17 points, making five 3-pointers, and Kevair Kennedy had 16 points, six assists and five steals. Tye Dorset also reached doubel-figures with 10 points.
• Merrimack is playing just its second home game of the season, after playing eight of the first nine games away from Lawler Arena. Merrimack is 2-0 playing within 30 miles of campus, with wins over Maine at home and at Boston Univeristy. The Warriors traveled over 12,500 miles during the first month of the season.
• 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 16.6 points per game, which is tied for second in the MAAC. He has scored 20 or more points three times, and in double figures in eight of the nine games. Shelton tied a school record for three-pointers in a game, with 9 in the win at BU.
• Kevair Kennedy is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 ppg, which ranks 13th in the conference. He has scored in double figures in eight of his nine collegiate games. He leads Merrimack and is 13th in the conference in assists (3.1 apg) and ranks 8th in the league in steals (1.8 spg). Kenndy has been huge in the Warriors three victories, coming two assists shy of a triple-double in the win at BU, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. He scored a career-high 23 points in the win over Maine and had 16 points, 6 assists and 5 steals in the win vs. La Salle.
• Merrimack tied the MAAC record for three-pointers in a game, making 19 three-pointers in the win over BU on Nov. 15. The Warriors have made 8 or more 3-pointers in 5 games, and have made double-figure trifectas in 3 games, including having 10 3-pointers in each of the last 2 games.
