Joey Motroni – Student Reporter Photo: @thefriesflics
North Andover, MA – Friday night’s matchup against Siena was the most anticipated Merrimack Men’s Basketball game since Merrimack’s NEC Championship loss against Wagner on March 12, 2024. Now, as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Warriors had a top-5 conference matchup against the Siena Saints that was at the center of conversation around campus leading up to the game.
When asked about how the team handled all of the potential distractions that came along with the big game atmosphere, Head Coach Joe Gallo said, “We tried to keep our week as normal as possible.” Gallo also emphasized that once the team got into their game plan, distractions were minimal.
In a game that was broadcast nationally on ESPNU, Merrimack and Siena needed overtime to determine a winner. After Merrimack got a defensive stop in the final 23 seconds of regulation, the Warriors outscored the Saints 13-6 in the overtime period to secure a hard-fought 79-72 win.
How it happened:
The Siena offense came out firing to start the grabbing some early momentum despite the raucous crowd environment inside Lawler Arena. The Saints used some quick, crisp ball movement, which created open looks, allowing the Saints to finish the first half 13/23 (52.2%) shooting from the field. Siena took a 37-32 lead into the half, good for one of the best offensive halves against Merrimack’s stellar defense this season. Gavin Doty continued his case to be in the conversation for the MAAC Player of the Year. He was the leading scorer for the Saints, finishing the night with 22 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 beyond the arc. Justice Shoats, his usual backcourt partner, was limited to four points in just under 11 minutes before fouling out early in the second half. Antonio Chandler added 18 points, while Francis Folefac chipped in 10 to help keep the Saints in rhythm offensively.
Freshman guard Kevair Kennedy shone once again, leading the way for the Warriors as he has done so much this season. Kennedy finished the night with a career-high 32 points, breaking his previous high of 25 against Mount St. Mary’s earlier this season. The Merrimack offense runs through Kennedy. Despite shooting only 8-of-21 (38.1%) from the field, Kevair made some unbelievably tough shots in the paint and went 16-of-16 from the free-throw line, a stark contrast to his one trip to the line in the previous matchup against Siena.
Kennedy also had some help on the offensive end. Ernest Shelton (17) and Tye Dorset (13) ended the night in double figures. Both Dorset and Shelton made some important threes in the game to keep the Warriors in striking distance, while the team was down at points in both the 1st and 2nd halves. Five of Shelton’s six made field goals, and three of Dorset’s four made field goals were from long distance.
As always, Merrimack’s success comes back to the team’s defense.
In overtime, the Warriors got two critical steals on back-to-back possessions to build a lead in overtime, flipping the momentum for good. The Warriors were able to turn the turnovers into points, which they did all night, creating 16 points off turnovers.
“It just came down to the stops,” Shelton said postgame.
Todd Brogna knocked down one of his two threes in overtime to give Merrimack a 75-70 lead, and the Warriors were able to salt the game away from that point forward.
With the win, Merrimack clinched at least a share of the regular-season MAAC title, and Joe Gallo’s gang will have a chance to win the title outright on Sunday when they take on Iona on Sunday at 1 PM, for Senior Day at Lawler Arena.
