ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The Merrimack men's basketball will go for a sweep of the MAAC regular season and tournament championships when the Warriors face Siena on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
THE LATEST
• Merrimack is playing in a conference championship game for the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons. Merrimack played in the 2024 NEC Championship game and won the 2023 NEC Championship game, but did not go to the NCAA Tournament because the Warriors were in the transition period to Division I. Joe Gallo is 7-2 in Division conference tournament play. The MAAC Regular-Season Champion Warriors won their 4th conference regular season championship in 7 years playing Division I.
• Tye Dorset scored a career-high 23 points, making 10-of-17 field goals and 3-of-5 3-pointers to lead Merrimack to a 58-57 win over Marist in the MAAC Semifinals. Kevair Kennedy had 16 points and Ernest Shelton had 13.
• Tye Dorset has made 8-of-16 (.500) 3-pointers in the last 3 games.
• Merrimack cleaned up on MAAC Postseason Awards with freshman Kevair Kennedy becoming the first-ever MAAC men's basketball Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Joe Gallo was named MAAC Coach of the Year and KC Ugwuakazi was named Defensive Player of the Year. Kennedy and Ernest Shelton were both named First-Team All-MAAC.
 • MAAC Player and Rookie of the Year Kevair Kennedy was named the conference's Player of the Week twice and Rookie of the Week seven times. Kennedy leads the league in scoring at 18.5 ppg and averaged a league-best 20.7 ppg in conference games. Kennedy has scored 20 points or more in 6 of the last 8 games and 11 of the last 14. He has scored in double-figures in all but one collegiate game - including 31 straight. Kennedy 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 is 2nd in the nation in FTs and FT attempts (220-273).
• First-Team All-MAAC selection Ernest Shelton, a high school teammate of Kevair Kennedy at Philadelphia's Father Judge High School, is second on the team and 5th in the MAAC in scoring at 15.9 points per game. Shelton has scored 20 or more points 6 times and in double figures in 30 of the 33 games. He has made a 3-pointer in every game and is 2nd in the MAAC and 39th in the nation in 3FG per game (2.94).
• The Warriors have won 11 of the last 12 and are 21-4 in the last 25 games. The Warriors are 15-0 when they scores 70 points or more. Merrimack leads the MAAC and is 26th in the nation in TO margin (+3.42) and is 2nd in the MAAC in steals (8.21).
• The Warriors continue to #MakeChaos with their zone defense. Merrimack is 27th in the nation in scoring defense (66.8 ppg) and 25th in the nation in 3FG defense (30.3%). The Warriors are 19th in the country in blocks pg (4.9) and have allowed over 66 points in regulation only 6x in the last 25 games.
