Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter
North Andover, MA – Following their first win of the season Saturday at BU, the Merrimack Men’s Basketball team (1–3) returned to campus for their home-opener at Lawler Wednesday night to take on the University of Maine (0–4).
Through the three-game road trip to begin the year, Merrimack shot a lackluster 31.2% from the field and 23.6% from three as a team. But vs. the Terriers this past weekend, the Warriors as a team shot 56.0% from the field and 66.7% from three, as Ernest Shelton rained down a school and MAAC-record nine triples, earning MAAC Player of the Week
“This is the best shooting team top to bottom that I’ve ever coached,” Coach Gallo told me following the win. “It was just a matter of time before the ball started to go in.” He also credited guys for being locked in: “Guys were in the gym getting work in since we got back from Texas, and it showed.”
1st HALF
Both teams got out to solid starts offensively, as each squad shot 50% from the field in the first half (MC 13–26, Maine 10–20).
While each side posted identical shooting efficiencies, the Warriors still carried a 34–27 lead into halftime. They did so even despite Maine controlling the glass, outrebounding Merrimack 18–9 overall and 11–5 on the offensive boards.
The Warriors were able to gain their advantage by making chaos on the defensive end. In the first half, Merrimack turned over the Black Bears 10 times, while forfeiting just three themselves. And off of those turnovers, Merrimack capitalized, turning them into 12 points, while Maine only converted two. As further proof of the narrative, Merrimack outscored Maine in transition 8–0.
TJ Biel was a problem for Merrimack in the first half, though, as he slammed the glass for 5 rebounds (2 offensive) and finished the half with 8 points on perfect shooting (4-4).
Reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week Kevair Kennedy led the charge for the Warriors with 10 points and 2 assists in 18 minutes. For at least the second straight game, he was ultra-aggressive immediately, getting into the lane and drawing contact—and having success. The freshman shot 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line in the opening period. “I’m just playing with confidence now, attacking off the rip,” Kennedy told me post-game.
Todd Brogna also contributed to winning the half, as he knocked down 2 of his 3 shots, both of which from deep.
2nd HALF
Merrimack came out of halftime on fire. Brogna opened the scoring with another three, before assisting Kennedy and Shelton on backdoor cuts to push the MC lead to double-digits. Shelton put some spin on his finish, and it was something special to see.
Assisted by Merrimack turnover troubles, the Black Bears clawed their way back into the game, as they knocked down a barrage of threes and free throws. In less than two minutes, Maine erased an 11-point Merrimack lead to tie the game at 49.
From that moment, Kevair Kennedy took over.
The freshman point guard subbed into the game with 11:27 to play and immediately pulled down an offensive rebound. With 10:50 to go, he drove aggressively, drew contact, and scored, plus the foul. Maine would fail to convert on the other end, and Kennedy took advantage, finding Andres Marrero for a three-pointer to give Merrimack a five-point lead.
The Warriors still had no answer for TJ Biel though. The forward answered down low before going airborne and throwing down a highlight alley-oop dunk.
But the Warriors answered both baskets, as Kevair Kennedy got to the line and hit both, and Andres Marrero hit a step-back mid-range jumper to recapture both the momentum and the two-possession lead.
Maine would answer with a middy of their own, but so would Kennedy with a free throw.
With just under five minutes remaining, Kennedy grabbed a rebound off a Maine miss and took it the length of the court full-speed before beating three defenders at the rim for the basket.
With just under three, Ernest Shelton drew a late-shot-clock foul on a jumper to bail MC out of an otherwise bad possession at a bad time. Nonetheless, Shelton sank both to give the Warriors a six-point cushion with 2:43 left on the clock.
From there, Maine hung around, but Merrimack won the game at the foul line. To close it out, Brogna, Shelton, Marrero, and Kennedy went 11-of-12 from the stripe in the final three minutes.
POST-GAME
After the game, Coach Gallo attributed the second-half effort to this team’s ability to get downhill. “Where this group is great, a little bit different than years in the past, they get to the foul line. They cut. We’re always three heavy, but we’re a cutting team. We took 31 free throws tonight. We’ve taken 20-plus in every game… that’s a new added dynamic of this team.”
It was no secret that Kevair Kennedy, who went 11-14 at the line, was the MVP of this game. He finished with a career-high 23 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists on the side.
“I had an alum who was a point guard here decades ago. He said, ‘Man, that kid Kennedy’s good, but you gotta let him loose a little bit more.’ I said, ‘How much more loose can I let him?’” Gallo said jokingly about Kennedy.
Next, Merrimack (2–3) heads south to face the defending National Champion Florida Gators (3–1) before they get a week off for Thanksgiving. “It’s house money… we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose,” said Gallo. “We just go out there, start swinging, and hope for the best.”
