Merrimack

Merrimack Basketball Skid Hits Three, Hockey Team Wins Third Straight

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If you are a fan of college sports then Merrimack College was the place to be on Friday night. Both the men’s basketball and hockey teams were in action. There was good news on one end and not-so-good news on the other. First, the basketball Warriors took on Bryant College and played as coach Joe Gallo called it “uphill all night long.” The result would back up the quote, as the Bulldogs (9-8, 5-1 in NEC) received a big night from senior Peter Kiss to defeat the Warriors 79-63. The loss was the third straight at home for Merrimack (8-10, 3-3 in NEC) on what is a four-game homestand.

Coach Gallo said it best. “Bryant was just better.” He also said: “they are an older, more poised team.” They would lead this game from wire to wire and the four guards that Bryant started were the key to getting this victory. Peter Kiss, the six-year player who came to Bryant after spending some time playing for Rutgers in the Big-10 was front and center. He was a problem all night for the Warriors, whether it was knocking down mid-range shots or getting to the foul line, Kiss (27 points) was the go-to guy for Bryant and he did not disappoint.

He would give the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the game by knocking down all three free throws he got after being foul shooting a three from the right corner. It gave the Bulldogs an 18-7 lead with 11:35 left in the first half. The Warriors cut that lead to five at 20-15 on back-to-back three’s by Malik Edmead (19 points) at the 9:25 mark of the half. As would be the case all night long, every time Merrimack put a little run together Bryant was right there to stop it. The Bulldogs would take a 42-32 lead with them to the locker room. The guard combination of Kiss and Charles Pride (19 points) scored 29 of the 42 first-half points by the Bulldogs.

The second half did not get much better for the Warriors. While Pride slowed down his offense a bit, Kiss did not. His mid-range game was lethal as his numbers would suggest. Amazingly, Kiss did not make a shot from 3-point range (0-7) but he made up for it by going 9-20 from the field and 9-10 from the free-throw line. He would constantly find the soft spots in the Warriors zone and did major damage. The man responsible for getting the ball in the right place for the shooters was senior guard Luis Hurtado Jr. who had 10 assists in 29 minutes of action. The guard’s play was too much on this night.

Merrimack was missing a key member of their team. Devin Jensen was in uniform but never saw any time on the court. The graduate senior had started ten games this season for the team. The Warriors did place three members of the starting unit in double figures with Ziggy Read (14 points) and Jordan Minor (12 points) joining Edmead. But it was not enough. Bryant also got double figures from Adham Eleeda with 10 points. For the Bulldogs, this was their fourth straight win and they now go home to start a three-game homestand on Sunday vs St.Francis of Brooklyn. Merrimack will end what is turning out to be a disappointing homestand on Sunday when Wagner comes to Hammel Court.

The hockey team was in action at the same time as their hoop mates. Their results were much better. For the second weekend in a row, they faced a team that was nationally ranked. Last weekend it was #17 Providence College and the Warriors swept them. On Friday night they played host to #10 UMass Lowell and behind two power-play goals in the second period by Max Newton and Declan Carlie defeated the River Hawks 3-1. Goalie Hugo Ollas stopped 23 of 24 shots to get the win. The Warriors are now over .500 overall at 11-10-1 and 6-8 in Hockey East. The two teams will meet again in Lowell on Saturday night

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