Men’s Basketball Rebounds with 81-70 Win over Le Moyne

Boxscore

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Merrimack men’s basketball team used a strong first half to earn its 10th win of the season, 81-70 over Le Moyne College Thursday night at the Volpe Gym.

In a game that featured the conference’s two leading scorers in Darren Duncan (Briarwood, NY) and Laurence Ekperigin, the Warriors effectively shut down Ekperigin, who entered Thursday’s game shooting 76% from the field, second in the nation. Ekperigin was limited to 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds in just 26 minutes before fouling out with three minutes remaining.

The Warriors racked up 50 first-half points closing the half on an 18-4 run that began when Ekperigin exited with 4:47 remaining with two fouls. Roland Davis (Deer Park, NY) scored the final two baskets for Merrimack, one off a three-on-two fast break and the other off an offensive rebound with four seconds remaining. Duncan led all scorers with 12 points and added five assists in the first half, as Merrimack shot 50% from the field and made five three-pointers while forcing 11 first-half turnovers.

Merrimack shot just 31% from the field in the second half and did not make a three-pointer (0-for-10) but hung on for the victory. After Ekperigin fouled out with his team down nine with 2:03 remaining, Kevin Hassett drained a three to cut the lead to six at 72-66 with two minutes remaining. The Warrior lead shrank to five after Duncan missed the front end of a one-and-one and Damani Corbin converted one of two free throws on the other end. But that was as close as the Dolphins got as Duncan converted six late free throws while Jared Brownlee (Portland, ME) was solid in the paint defensively to limit any late comeback from the visitors.

Duncan finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists and was 12-for-17 from the line. Brownlee racked up a double-double off the bench on 14 points and 11 rebounds and controlled Ekperigin for most of the night. Chris Winters (East Lyme, CT) and Darin Mency (Hagerstown, MD) added 10 points each while the Warrior defense forced 21 turnovers. Merrimack converted its first 13 free throws and finished 22-for-27 on the evening from the line.

Kevin Roth, who was one of five players in double figures from Le Moyne, posted a team-best 16 points and added 10 rebounds. Christopher Johnson added 13 off the bench, while James Cormier tallied 12 but committed six turnovers.

Merrimack (10-2, 6-2 NE-10) visits Saint Michael’s on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Purple Knights before returning home to face AIC Monday night at 7 p.m. for a non-conference game.