Merrimack

Merrimack Takes a share of Northeast Conference regular season crown

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When the balls were rolled out onto the court for the first time back in October, you had goals for what you hoped the season turns into. More often than not, not all of the goals are met. But you hope the important ones are. The Merrimack Warriors (20-11, 14-4), stepped into a new landscape by moving up from Division 2 to Division 1. So the goals may have been a bit different than other schools. The frontier was different and the goals had to be adjusted because of it.

With that said, it’s hard to believe that anyone had this kind of a story for the Warriors. A shot at both a twenty-win season and a regular-season championship. However, that was what was on the line on Thursday night. Not to mention, it was Senior Night for three members of the team. Before a sold-out crowd at Hammel Court, Merrimack was looking to make history. They were facing a Central Connecticut State (4-26, 3-14) team that was searching for their first win on the road this season. How would the Warriors handle what the night could bring them? They had their answer in two hours of real-time.

The first half showed the difference between the two teams. CCSU had trouble holding on to the ball with 11 turnovers that led to 13 Warriors points. Merrimack point guard Juvaris Hayes was filling out the stat sheet. He had 11 first-half points, four assists, and four steals. He was getting it done on both ends of the court. Merrimack’s 2-3 zone was a problem for the Blue Devils as finding good shots became a work in progress. Shooting 25% (1-for-4) from three-point land did not help either. CCSU did find a way to stay with Merrimack through the first five minutes of the first half. With ten to go in the first had the game was tied at 20-20 on a Jamir Coleman layup. Merrimack then jumped the lead to seven at 27-20. Idris Joyner had four quick points, his only points of the night. Hayes had the other three on an old-fashion three-point play. He had 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. The Blue Devils did not go away easily as they cut the lead to three on baskets by Xavier Wilson and Jamir Reed. Merrimack once again got it back up to seven at 35-28 with the help of a Jordan Minor (11 points) three-ball. He had 11 on the night and when Jaleel Lord (11 points) hit a three with six seconds left in the half, it gave the Warriors a ten-point halftime lead at 40-30.

The second half was all Warriors. The lead never dipped below ten points. The highest it got was eighteen with 3:14 to play on a Devin Jensen three. Jensen had 18 on the night, (6-of-11 from the field, 5-of-9 from deep). They could smell a championship and they got it. The most interesting thing about it was how calm the sold-out gym was by games end. There was the storming the court, but no wild reaction from the students who were there. As Coach Gallo said after the game “we need to teach our fans how to react to winning championships.”

The Warriors had the lead for 36 minutes of game time, recorded thirty points in the paint, with twenty-two off of Blue Devils turnovers. They held the Blue Devils best player, Greg Outlaw, to ten points for the game. He was the only CCSU player in double-figures. They came to Hammel Court to win a regular-season crown and they did. The final score was 69-58 Merrimack.

The plan for Merrimack is to take a few days off, enjoy spring break, then come back and get ready for post-season ball. A thought, that back in October, might have been unheard of. Jensen said afterward” it’s been a lot of fun” and who can blame him for thinking this way. Lord’s comment was “we stay the same and stick to the game plan.”

This is a quiet but confident team. How far can they go in post-season remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, they will get to find out.

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