The Merrimack men’s basketball team, currently leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), will host Sacred Heart on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Lawler Arena.
Merrimack holds a 13-9 overall record and is 9-2 in conference play. The Warriors previously defeated Sacred Heart, who are 6-6 in the MAAC, on December 29.
“For the 26th time in 33 MAAC games, the Warriors enter a contest in first place in the conference. The Warriors have the best MAAC conference record since joining the league with a 23-8 conference record. Quinnipiac has the next best at 22-10.”
Last Saturday, Merrimack secured a win over Saint Peter’s after leading by as many as 20 points, maintaining their undefeated home record at 7-0. Ernest Shelton scored 21 points, Kevair Kennedy added 17, and Tye Dorset contributed 15.
“Kevair Kennedy has put himself in position to sweep the MAAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. Kennedy, a 4x MAAC Rookie of the Week, is averaging 17.0 points per game, which is second in the MAAC. His 19.5 points per game in conference games leads the league. Kennedy’s has only taken 18 3-pointers this season, making 7. He has made 111 2-point field goals on 234 attempts from inside the arc (47%). He has scored in double-figures in 21 of his 22 collegiate games – including 20 straight. He leads Merrimack and is seventh in the conference in assists (3.7 apg) and ranks fifth in steals (1.7 spg). He has scored twenty or more points in three of the last four games and five of the last eight.”
Ernest Shelton also plays a key role for Merrimack: “Ernest Shelton, a high school teammate of Kevair Kennedy at Philadelphia’s Father Judge High School, is second on the team and fourth in the MAAC in scoring at sixteen points per game. Shelton, a Division II transfer from Gannon University in Erie, PA, is second on the team in scoring and is fourth in the MAAC (15.9 ppg). He has scored twenty or more points five times and reached double figures nineteen times out of twenty-two games. He has made a three-pointer every game and multiple three-pointers nineteen times out of twenty-two games.”
The Warriors have won seven of their last nine games and eleven out of fourteen overall matches this season. They remain unbeaten at home with a perfect record within New England except for one loss outside their region.
During their previous meeting against Sacred Heart on December 29—which ended with an eighty to seventy-two victory—four players reached double digits: Ernest Shelton led with nineteen points; Kevair Kennedy had eighteen; Tye Dorset finished with sixteen; Andrés Marrero added fourteen.
Merrimack’s defensive strategy continues to be effective: “The Warriors #MakeChaos zone defense has continued to cause problems for opponents. Merrimack has allowed over sixty-six points only three times during their last fourteen games and held teams to sixty-one or fewer four times within their last six contests—including each of their most recent three matchups.”
In recent performances against Marist, Iona, and Saint Peter’s—each opponent was held well below its average point total.
Overall this stretch sees Merrimack holding opponents to an average of just under sixty-four points per game across fourteen outings.
Tye Dorset contributes twelve-and-a-half points per game during conference play.
