Anthony Borgonzi & Jack Lawhorne – Sports Reporters
We are currently two weeks into the season, it’s time to call a timeout and recap the start of the season:
University of Vermont
Coming into this season, University of Vermont was projected to win the American-East Conference for the fourth consecutive season. The Warriors had fallen short to the Catamounts the last two seasons and knew it would be a challenge. The Warriors opened the season at Lawler behind an enthusiastic crowd and did not disappoint.
The Warriors defense looked like they were in mid-season form as they forced 17 turnovers led by Clark and Becht’s three steals each. They held the Catamounts to 22 points total in the first half, the same amount of points as the Auburn defense did. The Warriors led by six going into halftime and their offense turned it on afterwards. The Warriors scored 38 points in the second half to defeat the Catamounts with a score of 65-51.
The Warriors dictated the pace while Budd Clark led the way with 19 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Matt Becht was brought here to shoot and he was as advertised, knocking down 3 three pointers. While Sean Trumpers physical play added an efficient 11 points and 7 rebounds. Joe Gallo said postgame that this was the biggest win in program history, as this is their first statement win against a mid-major powerhouse.
VCU
Coming into this season, Virginia Commonwealth University was ranked a top fifty team in kenpom rankings and the favorite to win the Atlantic-10 Conference.
Despite being out of their weight class, the Warriors kept it competitive early as the make chaos zone was giving VCU some problems in the first half. However, the Warriors struggled to score and fell behind heading into halftime. In the second half, VCU extended their lead to 20 points in a non-competitive second half.
Despite the result, the Warriors can learn lessons from playing a high level of competition for their non-conference schedule looking ahead. Starting point guard Budd Clark continued to produce with 19 points in the loss.
Princeton University
Following a tough loss to VCU in Richmond, VA, the Warriors were back home at Lawler on a Fall Sunday afternoon playing host to the Princeton Tigers.
A 2017 and 2023 tournament team, Princeton fared as strong competition for a growing Merrimack program.
Sophomore guard Adam “Budd” Clark led the way for the Warriors with a strong first-half performance which saw Merrimack take as much as a 14-point lead before Princeton battled back to tie the game. Clark broke the tie with a dazzling buzzer-beating bucket to give the Warriors a 2-point halftime lead.
In the second half, Clark was persistent finishing with an efficient 24 points and adding a handful of clips to his highlight reel but Princeton pulled ahead as they held the Warriors to just 22 2nd half points.
In the end, Princeton defeated Merrimack by a score of 68-57. The Warriors are back in action on Wednesday in New Jersey to take on former Warrior Jordan Derkack and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
RUTGERS
Ensuing a hard-fought loss to Princeton at home on Sunday which saw Sophomore guard Adam “Budd” Clark score a season-high 24 points, the Warriors headed to New Jersey Wednesday to play a familiar face in former Warrior Jordan Derkack.
Derkack led the Warriors and the entire NEC in scoring last season with 17 points per game and commanded Merrimack to the second seed in the NEC as well as a berth in the NEC Championship where the squad ultimately fell to Wagner. If it weren’t for Derkack suffering and playing through a fractured foot and multiple torn ligaments, the star wing had a chance to catapult Merrimack past the NEC and into March Madness.
Derkack was not the lone notable opponent for the Warriors Wednesday night. Also suiting up against Merrimack included the 2nd and 3rd ranked players in the entire country out of high school this past year. Freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are both projected to be selected in the top 5 of the NBA Draft following this season.
Budd Clark was phenomenal in the contest finishing with an extremely impressive 22 points. In the first half alone he stood out as perhaps the best player on the court despite the presence of the 3 Rutgers stars. At half, Rutgers led the contest by 7.
In the second half, Budd continued to do his thing and kept things within striking distance but the Warriors were unable to complete the comeback. In the end it was Rutgers pulling through and winning by a score of 74-63. Ace Bailey showed out, finishing with a game-high 23 points in an entertaining scoring duel between him and Clark.
The Warriors are back in action when they play Butler Friday night in Indianapolis. Formerly coached by Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, the Bulldogs finished as runner-ups to Duke and UConn in the 2010 and 2011 National
Championships. Butler should serve as a challenging but significant opportunity for the Warriors to bounce back.
UMASS LOWELL
Another tough America East matchup served as the Warriors’ sixth game of the season, Monday night at UMass Lowell. Budd Clark led the way for the Warriors per usual notching 19 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Fellow guards Malik Edmead and Devon Savage were also productive offensively, each adding double-digit points.
Despite the game being a hard-fought battle all throughout, the Warriors were unable to close out the contest. Merrimack’s season-high 74 points were simply not enough for a Riverhawk offense who tallied 81 points, the highest scoring total allowed by Joe Gallo’s defense this season.
BOTTOM LINE
We are six games into the 2024-25 Men’s Basketball season and Merrimack’s defense looks like they are in mid-season form. Offensive struggles have held us back, however we are only two weeks into the season. Our roster has a lot of new pieces and we will certainly improve over the course of the season. Our record does not tell the whole story, as we have played a top 40 difficult schedule.
The Warriors have taken on some vigorous competition throughout the first month of the season and most importantly they have competed. While Butler and VCU were dominant in their respective matchups, Merrimack competed with Rutgers all game despite having two of the top projected NBA draft picks. Furthermore, Budd Clark’s season-high 24 points pushed a Princeton team who made the tournament in 2023 to their limit, and the Warriors pulled out an impressive win at home against Vermont, a premiere team in the America East.
While not all is sunshine and rainbows at the moment, one positive take away from the start of the season is sophomore guard Budd Clark averaging 19 points, 4 assists, and 2
steals. Furthermore, the schedule only looks to get easier for the Warriors from here on out.
The Warriors head to Alabama for Thanksgiving where they’ll face UTSA on Wednesday and Troy on Friday, before heading to New York to begin conference play vs. Canisius University and the Niagara University Purple Eagles. Then, Merrimack returns home on December 13 where they’ll host Boston University to end a long stint on the road before they get right back on it and head to California for a pair of high-profile games vs. Stanford and Saint Mary’s. From there on, the Warriors will be back at home a lot more frequently and come January the schedule looks to be all MAAC conference play.
If all goes well, the Warriors will steal at least 2 out of the 4 games out-of-state and will be back home December 13th for a huge Friday night matchup against Boston University.
Go Warriors!
