Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter
PRINCETON, N.J. – Riding a three-game win streak and entering the final couple of contests before a 15-day break over Christmas, the Merrimack Men’s Basketball team (6–6, 2–0 MAAC) grinded out a massive underdog victory over Princeton University (3–10) Wednesday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium.
According to ESPN analytics, Merrimack entered the game with a 36.6% chance to win compared to Princeton’s 63.4% mark.
But the Warriors escaped with a 59–56 triumph.
MC got slammed on the glass — losing the rebound battle 45–26, and forfeiting 19 offensive rebounds including multiple substantial ones down the stretch. The deficit led to the Tigers getting off 11 more shot attempts than Merrimack.
The Warriors didn’t have their best offensive performance either, as they scored just 59 points and shot a subpar 39% from the field and 26% from three.
“Defense. Defense. Defense.,” said Ernest Shelton post-game. “Our offense is going to take us far, but once we build down on the defensive end, and hold teams to under 60 points every game, I think we’ll be one of the best teams in the country.”
The Warriors’ “Make Chaos” defense held Princeton to a lackluster shooting performance of their own. Jackson Hicke (21 PTS, 8–12 FG) was a problem for Merrimack, but as a team, the Tigers shot an abysmal 30% from the field.
Merrimack also turned Princeton over 10 times and scored 10 points off those turnovers, while waiving just five each on their own behalf.
Both halves were closely contested, but the Warriors controlled much of the first, leading by as much as seven thanks to Kevair Kennedy and Ernest Shelton getting hot midway through the period.
Princeton would close the gap to three by the half before Merrimack missed their first seven FGs in the second half and gave up the lead.
Both teams would trade advantages until the end.
With just over a minute to play, the Warriors found themselves down one. But Kevair Kennedy drove to the basket and kicked out to Tye Dorset, who knocked down a go-ahead triple.
On the other end, Princeton missed a three, but grabbed their 19th offensive rebound of the evening to take the lead.
Dorset, however, responded by getting to the free throw line and regaining the lead for Merrimack.
On the final possession with the Warriors up a point, Dylan Veillette made a block at the rim, but the ball went out of bounds off Merrimack. WIth one last chance, the Tigers went up for the game, but Veillette and Todd Brogna stood strong in the paint together for the game-sealing stop. Veillette grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and knocked down his free throws. That was all she wrote, and the Warriors came out with a tough three-point win.
Ernest Shelton led the way for MC, as he scored 16 points, and got help from Kevair Kennedy and Tye Dorset, who also finished in double-digits and each made crucial winning plays late. Dorset also added 3 steals, while Todd Brogna also hit multiple big shots and tallied 2 blocks, while Dylan Veillette blocked 3 shots in just nine second half minutes.
The Warriors are back in action Sunday afternoon at the University of Vermont before they get a 15-day break through Christmas.
According to ESPN Analytics, MC has just a 26.7% to come out victorious, but surely they will carry the underdog mentality from one game to the next.
“We don’t really look at stuff like that,” said Student Manager Liam McLaughlin. “But just by looking at our non-conference schedule, it’s no secret that we won’t be favored in a lot of games, but we embrace that underdog mentality.”
“And for us, nothing really matters except for defense,” McLaughlin said, echoing Shelton from earlier. “We know that if we are locked in on defense, it doesn’t matter who we play, we are going to find a way to win.”
Sunday’s tip-off is set for 2:00 pm ET at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, VT.
