NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. –
Kevair Kennedy and the Merrimack men's basketball team overcame a sluggish start en route to an 81-56 victory against Marist at Lawler Arena on Thursday night.
With the win, Merrimack (17-9, 13-2 in MAAC) retained its top spot in the conference.
"We took that first punch," Merrimack men's basketball coach
Joe Gallo said referencing a 20-10 deficit eight minutes into the contest. "We kept defending. The ball wasn't going in even though I thought we were getting great shots. And the way we closed out that half to go up five (points) was huge. We kind of just keep the train rolling from there."
The Warriors took a 35-30 lead into halftime after closing the final 12 minutes on 25-5 run. Merrimack outscored Marist 49-21 over the course of a 24-minute span.
"I thought we took it upon ourselves to challenge each other to play harder after that first 10 minutes," Merrimack guard
Tye Dorset said. "I think we responded."
Kennedy led all scorers with 22 points (6-for-12) and dished seven assists while the Warriors had four players finish in double figures.
Tye Dorset chipped in 15 points with four rebounds while Andres Marrero (13 points, 3-for-6 3-point range) and
Ernest Shelton (12 points, 4-for-9) were largely impactful in the win.
Todd Brogna (five blocks) was among those who stood out defensively for the Warriors, who scored 21 points off 13 Marist turnovers.
Merrimack will travel to Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon.
