Becht’s Clutch Performance Pushes Men’s Basketball Past Sacred Heart in MAAC Quarterfinals

Atlantic City, N.J. – Merrimack College men's basketball team earned a four-point overtime victory in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC tournament on Wednesday night. Matt Becht led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points. Devon Savage added 15 in the victory. Both Warriors knocked down five threes. Adam "Budd" Clark and Bryan Etumnu both finished the game with a double-double. Clark had 14 points and 10 assists. Etumnu had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
 
The Essentials
Score: #2 Merrimack 75, #7 Sacred Heart 53
Records: #2 Merrimack (18-14, 14-6 MAAC) | #7 Sacred Heart (15-18, 10-10 MAAC)
Location: Boardwalk Hall

Rapid Recap

• Savage got the scoring going for the Warriors with a three. The Pioneers quickly answered back with one of their own to tie the game at three. Becht then found the bottom of the net from deep, putting Merrimack up a possession. Sacred Heart converted on a layup, going down one. Sean Trumper then added a shot from deep to put the Warriors up four. Etumnu found a lane for two, putting Merrimack up six. The Pioneers then added nine straight points to flip the game and go up by three. A Malik Edmead free throw cut the lead down to two. The Warriors then added 10 straight points to flip the lead back in their direction, going up by eight. Sacred Heart stopped the run with a jumper, cutting the advantage down to six. Etumnu hit a three to send Merrimack up nine. The Pioneers added a three of their own. Savage then hit a three to put the lead back up to nine. With three minutes to play, the Pioneers found themselves down three. Clark then scored four points to swell the lead to seven. A three by Sacred Heart put them down four heading into halftime.  
• Sacred Heart opened the second half on a seven-point run to go up by three. Savage would time the game at 35 with a three. The Pioneers added a layup to go up two. Merrimack stormed back with a 12-point run. Becht had 10 of the 12 points during the charge. Sacred Heart stopped the run with a dunk. Savage then added a three to give the Warriors a 11-point lead. Both teams battled back and forth for a number of minutes. With just under five minutes to play Merrimack was up by six. Becht found the bottom of the net from deep to put the Warriors up by nine. With under a minute left in regulation the Pioneers cut the lead down to three. Clark hit a jumper with 30 seconds left to put Merrimack up five. Sacred Heart hit a three on their next offensive possession to go down two. A missed free throw from the Warriors gave Sacred Heart a change with 11 seconds remaining. A foul was called on Merrimack, putting the Pioneers at the line. They would hit both free throws sending the game into overtime.
• Sacred Heart went up three in the first minute of overtime. Savage hit a three to tie the game. Clark added a jumper to put Merrimack up by two. Both teams had a handful of defensive stops. Etumnu took a charge with four seconds to go. Becht would get fouled and go to the line for two shots. He knocked down both, icing the game for Merrimack.  
   

Notes and Numbers

• Merrimack knocked down 13 threes with is tied for their second most on the season.
• Four Warriors forced 20 Pioneer turnovers and scored 21 points off the giveaways.

Up Next
Merrimack awaits the winner of the #3 Marist vs #6 Mount St. Mary's. The Warriors will play their next game on Friday at 8:30 p.m.