ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Joe Gallo and the Merrimack College men's basketball team will rely on what got them to this point.
The Warriors (21-10, 17-3 in MAAC) are the top-seeded team at the MAAC Men's Basketball Championships in Atlantic City, after all. The MAAC Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year all will be reppin' the Warriors when they start their run at America's Playground.
"Stick with our plan, follow our formula," Gallo said ahead of Merrimack's matchup against No. 9 Sacred Heart on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET.
What makes up that formula? The Warriors concluded the regular season with the best turnover margin in the conference. Merrimack ranked first in blocked shots and second in steals. Simply put, the Warriors' defense consistently speeds up opposing offenses.
"We're going out there like it's three road games," Gallo said. "The way we've played has traveled well, and we just got to stick to that."
The keys in Atlantic City are the same as everywhere else.
"Defending. Taking care of the basketball. Being unselfish. Expecting the unexpected and not overreacting to a turnover, a missed shot, or a foul call. Moving on to the next play," Gallo said. "I think that teams that do that usually the score takes care of itself."
Merrimack junior KC Ugwuakazi, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year, led the league in blocked shots (2.1 per game) while freshman guard Kevair Kennedy and junior Tye Dorset ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in steals. Their contributions, among others, held opponents to just 42 percent from the field per game.
The Warriors, as their slogan suggests, make chaos on that end.
"It originally was a play off of the MC," Gallo said regarding the 'Make Chaos' mantra. "But it's our defensive identity. We're trying to get 35 deflections every game and just make it chaotic for other teams and make them have to play a little faster, a little different, a little more chaotic than they're used to playing. So, we went with some wordplay off those two initials there off our logo and it's kind of stuck.
"When everybody is connected and flying around, it kind of looks like a spider web of a bunch of guys working on a string, trying to get the ball back from the other team."
On the offensive end, Kennedy and company have provided Gallo with a potent combination.
Kennedy became the first player in MAAC men's basketball history to win Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. A First Team All-MAAC selection and All-Rookie honoree, Kennedy averaged a league-best 18.5 points per game. His patience in the paint, frequently leading to a hard-earned bucket at the rim, has been complemented by fellow First Team All-MAAC Ernest Shelton, who finished third in the league in made 3-pointers per game (2.9 per game) and fifth in scoring average (15.9 points).
While the Warriors might enter the tournament with a target on their back – a product of being regular-season champions and the flurry of individual accolades – Gallo and company aren't putting an added emphasis into.
"No added pressure or anything like that, just kind of business as usual," Gallo said.
Don't expect that to change.
