NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball team (9-10, 9-9 NEC) fell to Merrimack (9-7, 9-7 NEC), 75-67, in the 2020-21 regular season finale on Friday afternoon on Hammel Court. The Terriers and Warriors split the season series with St. Francis taking game one, and Merrimack came away victorious today.
The Terriers and Warriors locked up in a defensive battle as each team forced 18 turnovers in the game. St. Francis was held to 22 points in the first half on 26.7 percent shooting from the field. Merrimack controlled a 34-22 lead at the halftime break, but despite the 12-point deficit the Terriers fought back in the second half of play.
St. Francis went on to outscore Merrimack in the second half, 45-41, as they chipped away at the Warriors' lead. After trailing by double figures for much of the second half, with 3:57 to play the Terriers were down, 64-50, and has one final run in them. St. Francis went on a 12-0 run, and cut Merrimack's advantage to 64-62 with 1:46 to play in the game. The run was fueled by gritty defense as the Terriers forced three turnovers, which resulted in six crucial points.
St. Francis had a big four-point swing that cut the lead to just two with 1:46 to play. Graduate guard
Unique McLean made it a four-point game with 1:55 to play and then senior guard
Chauncey Hawkins stole the ensuing inbounds pass and junior forward
David Muenkat converted a layup from pointblank range to make it a 64-62 lead for Merrimack with 1:46 to go in the game.
The two-point deficit was the closest that the Terriers would get to tying the game as the Warriors closed the contest out on an 11-5 run to put them out on top, 75-67. Despite the defeat, the Terriers had three student-athletes finish in double-digits and were led by McLean who scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 67 | Merrimack – 75
- McLean totaled a team-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 36 minutes. The guard shot 7-of-11 from the field and swiped a career-high four steals in the game. The Brooklyn native finished the regular season averaging 18.3 points per game over the Terriers final six contests. He scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and has scored 10 or more points in a game 13 times this season.
- Higgins scored 14 points for the second game in a row. The guard shot 6-of-13 from the field, pulled down two rebounds, and came up with two steals in 34 minutes of action.
- Hawkins finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 37 minutes of play. With his 12 points, he now has 1,261 in his career and moved past Lou Myers for 15th-place on the all-time scoring list. He is just 43 points away from tying Anthony D'Elia with 1,304 points for 14th-place on the list.
- Graduate guard/forward Travis Atson chipped in eight points, four rebounds, and two steals in 26 minutes.
