Loretto, Pa. - Merrimack (12-8, 6-1), in its first full-season in Division I, took over sole possession of first place on Monday night with a 72-55 win at Saint Francis (12-6, 5-2 NEC). In the process, Saint Francis saw its five-game winning streak come to a close.

Krimmel's Reaction

"It was an honor for our guys to play on Martin Luther King Day," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "We talked with our guys before the game about how he set an example fir how to respond when things don't go your way. Tonight, Merrimack was the better team. They imposed their will and style of play on us and executed really well down the stretch."

Turning Point

Saint Francis overcame a slow start to take its biggest lead of the night, 32-24, after two free throws from sophomore Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden). Merrimack closed the half, just as it started it, on a 10-2 run to send the teams into the half tied at 34-34. The Warriors started the second half like it did the first, scoring the first 10 points to build a double digit lead. Merrimack outscored Saint Francis 20-2 from 3:48 of the first half to 15:57 of the second half and Saint Francis couldn't recover. 

Inside the Box Score

• Merrimack shot a season-high 56.5% (26-46) from the field, while SFU hit 46.9% (23-49).
• SFU was just 2-of-12 (16.7%) from three-point range, while Merrimack made 9-of-19 (47.4%) three-point field goals.
• Merrimack was 11-for-12 (91.7%) from the charity stripe to 7-of-9 (77.8%) for the Red Flash.
• Saint Francis committed 21 turnovers, tied for its second most all season, while forcing 17. Points off turnovers favored the Warriors, 26-14.
• SFU held a 34-26 advantage in the paint and 26-22 edge on the glass.

Notes

• The Red Flash were without two of its top four scoring options in Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (17.4 ppg) and Tyler Stewart (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) (10.1 ppg), who served a one-game suspension.
• Senior Randall Gaskins Jr. picked up the scoring slack, matching his season-high with 12 points. Redshirt freshman Bryce Laskey (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) added 10 points, to tie his career-high, while senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) scored 12.
• Junior Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) moved into 7th place on the school's blocks list with two.
• Merrimack's Idris Joyner was the star of the night, netting a season-high 28 points on 11-12 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. 

Up Next

The Red Flash head to Brooklyn where it will play LIU on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. before a game at St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, Jan. 25, to close a stretch of seven games in 17 days.