North Andover, Mass. — The Merrimack College Warriors beat the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 74-68, at Lawler Arena on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Jordan Derkack led the Warriors with 33 points (a career-high), 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Budd Clark made 4 steals and dished out 4 assists. The River Hawks were led by a stand-out performance by senior big Max Brooks who scored a season-high 18 points and secured 5 rebounds.
The River Hawks started strong, holding a five-point lead at the third TV timeout in the first half. But, once Merrimack hit the gas, the River Hawks were left looking for an answer. The Warriors went on an 11-2 run to end the half, going from a five-point deficit to a four-point lead in 4:38.
Merrimack led the way at the break 32-28 and would not relinquish it for the remainder of the game.
Fouls, Fouls, and Fouls
The River Hawks’ collapse worsened in the second half. The first half was extremely clean, with just 3 fouls called on each team with the first and only two free throws taken with less than 6:00 remaining). But, Lowell fouled the Warriors 15 times in the second half. Derkack alone took 17 free throws, making 14 of them.
“I don’t remember the last time someone shot that many free throws against us,” said UMass Lowell head coach Pat Duquette. “We have to find a way to foul less.”
The River Hawks would make a late surge, cutting the lead to three points with 1:43 remaining, but it wouldn’t be enough. The near-constant fouling by the River Hawks allowed the Warriors to keep the game just out of reach.
“It was just a great win,” said Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo. “[UMass Lowell] is a really good team. They beat Georgia Tech on the road. They had Arizona State on the ropes, so this is a great win.”
While this is a non-conference matchup, the proximity of the two teams (it’s a 25-minute drive from door to door) naturally creates a big game atmosphere.
“It’s pretty cool to have two really good Division I programs not even 15 miles apart,” said Gallo. “This could be a really good rivalry for years to come. With the proximity and how good of a program they’ve become, we’ll play these guys forever.”
UMass Lowell will take on the Fisher College Falcons this Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Costello Athletic Center.
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