Early three-point barrage allows Merrimack to hold off Red Flash

2/4/2021 6:06:00 PM

Miles McQuiggan

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Redshirt freshman Josh Cohen scored a career-high 13 points and four other Saint Francis men's basketball players were in double figures, but Merrimack made 10 first-half three-pointers and led the rest of the way in a 68-62 defeat of the Red Flash on Thursday afternoon.

Senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover added 13 points for Saint Francis, while junior Myles Thompson contributed 11 points and eight rebounds, and redshirt sophomore Bryce Laskey and freshman Maxwell Land chipped in with 10 points each.

Senior Mark Flagg recorded two blocks and became the sixth player in program history with 100 in his Saint Francis career.

Merrimack 68, Saint Francis 62
Records: Saint Francis (5-11, 4-8 NEC), Merrimack (5-4, 5-4 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court (North Andover, Mass.)

COACH KRIMMEL'S COMMENTS
"We didn't do a good job in the first half of adjusting to them making shots. They made 10 threes in the first half and that was a huge part of the outcome of this game … We've got to be more intense defensively and do something different. We can't allow them to get that hot tomorrow, and then offensively, we have to play with more of a sense of urgency and execute."

KEY MOMENTS

Merrimack jumped in front 29-17 by hitting nine three-pointers in the first 13 minutes of the game.
The Red Flash cut a 13-point deficit to six in the final 90 seconds but could not bring the deficit back within one possession.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Merrimack opened a 12-point lead by scoring 27 of its first 29 points from beyond the arc to lead 29-17 with 6:51 to play in the half.
Saint Francis scored the next six to get back within six and a Cohen basket brought the deficit to 34-29 with 3:04 to go before halftime.
Merrimack responded with the next six and led 40-29 at the half. Cohen led the Red Flash with nine points in the first half, while Thompson added seven points and five rebounds.
Six straight from the Red Flash got SFU back within 44-37 with 14:42 remaining.
Merrimack grew the lead back to 11 at 63-52 before five straight points – including a three from Laskey – got the Red Flash to a 63-57 deficit with 1:20 to play.
The Warriors moved back ahead by 10 at 67-57 and closed out a six-point decision after a Dixon-Conover basket on the final possession brought the game to its final 68-62 margin.

STATS

Cohen was 6-of-8 from the floor in a career-high 28 minutes and added four rebounds.
Dixon-Conover was 5-of-12 from the field with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Thompson corralled a game-high eight rebounds and was 3-of-4 from the line. Redshirt freshman Luke Ruggery was 3-for-3 at the line and the Red Flash were 10-of-17 as a team.
Laskey was in double figures for the fifth-straight game and made three of Saint Francis' four three-pointers, with Dixon-Conover converting on the other.
Saint Francis shot 47.1% from the field, but Merrimack was 51% from the field and 46.2% from three with 12 made three-pointers, tying Sunday's total by Central Connecticut as the most allowed by the Red Flash this season.
Saint Francis out-rebounded Merrimack, 31-28.
The Red Flash assisted on 14 of its 24 made field goals.

GAME NOTES

Saint Francis drops to 0-2 all-time against Merrimack.
Cohen made his first career start.
The game was Saint Francis' first in Massachusetts since a 1974 loss at Boston College.
Flagg moves within four blocks of Emmanuel Adekunle and Earl Brown for fourth in program history.

UP NEXT
The Red Flash and Warriors will close out their two-game weekend set Friday afternoon. Opening tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. on NEC Front Row.

Follow Saint Francis Men's Basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash.

To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.

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