HAMDEN, CT - The MAAC-leading Merrimack men's basketball team visits two-time defending MAAC regular season champion Quinnipiac on Sunday at 2 p.m.
THE LATEST
• The Warriors have the best MAAC conference record since joining the league last season, with a 27-8 conference record, ahead of Quinnipiac (25-11) and Marist (23-13) for the best record over the last two seasons. For the 30th time in 36 MAAC games, the Warriors enter a contest in first place in the conference standings.
• Kevair Kennedy scored 22 points, his sixth time with over 20 points in the last 8 games, as the Warriors defeated Marist on Thursday. Tye Dorset had 15, Andres Marrero had 13 and Ernest Shelton added 12. It Was Merrimack's fifth-straight win.
• The Warriors won the previous meeting on Jan. 17 in Lawler Arena. Kevair Kennedy led the way with a career-high 23 points.
• Kevair Kennedy has put himself in position to sweep the MAAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. Kennedy, a 4x MAAC Rookie of the Week, is leading the league in scoring in conference games at 19.8 points per game. He is second in the league in scoring in all games at 17.5 points per game and has scored in double-figures in 25 of his 26 collegiate games - including 24 straight. He leads Merrimack and is 4th in the conference in assists (4.2 apg) and ranks 4th in the league in steals (1.9 spg). He has scored 20 or more points in 6 of the last 8 games and 8 of the last 11.
• Ernest Shelton, a high school teammate of Kevair Kennedy at Philadelphia's Father Judge High School, is second on the team and 6th in the MAAC in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Shelton, a Division II transfer from Gannon University in Erie, PA, has scored 20 or more points 6 times, and in double figures in 23 of the 26 games. He has made a 3-pointer in every game and multiple 3-pointers in 22 of the 26 games.
• The Warriors have won 7 of the last 8 and are 15-3 in the last 18 games. Merrimack is a 9-0 at home and 5-2 on the road in MAAC play. The Warriors are 10-0 when it scores 70 points or more and are second in the MAAC in turnover margin (+2.65).
• The Warriors #MakeChaos zone defense has continued to cause problems for opponents. Merrimack has allowed over 66 points only 4x in the last 18 games and held teams to 61 points or less in 7 of the last 10 games, including 6 of the last 7.
• Merrimack has held 5 of its last 6 opponents - Marist (-17.5) Iona (-13.4), Saint Peter's (-13.2), Sacred Heart (-17.0) and Rider (-19.1), Marist (-17.0) well below their season average. Merrimack is holding opponents to 62.0 points per game in the last 15 games.
• Tye Dorset is averaging 12.9 points per game in conference play and has scored in double-figures in 8 of the last 11 games. He has made a 3-pointer in 7-straight games.
