First-Place Merrimack Heads To Saint Peter's Sunday At 2 P.M.

JERSEY CITY, NJ - The MAAC-leading Merrimack men's basketball team takes its 6-0 conference record to Saint Peter's for a 2 p.m. tip-off on Sunday.

THE LATEST
• Ernest Shelton scored 17 points, Kevair Kennedy had 14 and KC Ugwuakazi had 12 as Merrimack won at Siena on Friday 63-59, the Warriors fourth-straight win.

• First-place Merrimack is off to a 6-0 start to MAAC play and is 20-6 in MAAC regular season play since joining the league last season. The Warriors opened 2024-25 league play 5-0 on the way to a 2nd place finish. Merrimack is impressive 78-33 (.702) in D-I conference play (since 2019-20), including 5 seasons in the NEC. 

• The Warriors have won four-straight games and eight of the last nine games and are 10-4 in the last 14 games. Merrimack has won four of its last five away from home.

• The Warriors #MakeChaos zone defense has continued to cause problems for opponents, especially in the last nine games, when Merrimack has allowed over 66 points only once. Merrimack is holding opponents to 63.7 points per game in the last 9 games. 

• Merrimack is led on offense by Philadelphia natives Ernest Shelton and Kevair Kennedy, who were teammates at Father Judge High School. Kennedy, who was named MAAC Rookie of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, leads the team and is 3rd in the MAAC in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 16 of his 17 collegiate games - including 15 straight. Kennedy is second in the MAAC in scoring in conference games at 19.2 ppg. He leads Merrimack and is 7th in the conference in assists (4.0 apg) and ranks 10th in the league in steals (1.5 spg). Shelton, a Division II transfer from Gannon University in Erie, PA, is second on the team in scoring and is 5th in the MAAC (15.5 ppg). He has scored 20 or more points four times, and in double figures in 14 of the 17 games. He has made a 3-pointer in every game and multiple 3-pointers in 15 of the 17 games. Shelton has made three treys in each of his last five games and is averaging 18.5 points per game in his last four games.

• Andrés Marrero is averaing 11.2 points per game in conference play and has made 14 3-pointers in six MAAC games. He made 4-of-9 3-pointers on his way to 14 points in the win at Sacred Heart. He scored a career-high 23 points against Rider, making 9-of-14 field goals and 4-of-9 3-pointers. Marrero has made a 3-pointer in all but one game. 

• Among 10 new players, sophomore Tye Dorset is thriving as a returning contributor. Dorset is averaging 11.8 points per game in conference play. 

• KC Ugwuakazi had a career-high 12 points in the win at Siena on Friday. Ugwuakazi leads the MAAC in blocks per game (1.9 bpg). Ugwuakazi is averaging 8.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in the last five games.