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Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter — Photo: Jim Stankiewicz NORTH ANDOVER, MA — MAAC Player of the Year frontrunner Kevair Kennedy scored a career-high 32 points Friday night to lead the Merrimack men’s basketball team to a 79–72 overtime win over Siena. The game was nationally broadcasted on ESPNU and played in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at Lawler Arena, and Kennedy stole the spotlight. With the win, the Warriors improved to 15–2 in the MAAC and 17–3 over their last 2

J ack Lawhorne — Student Reporter North Andover, MA — As it stands, the Merrimack men’s basketball team sits atop the MAAC standings at 14–2, and according to ESPN Bracketology, the Warriors are currently projected as a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they would face No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Round of 64. While this ESPN ranking is exciting, let me be clear: this projection is based entirely on regular-season results — Merrimack cannot earn a spot in the NCAA Tou

Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter North Andover, MA — The Merrimack men’s basketball team picked up two massive victories in the past four days over two of the premier teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Last year in the Warriors’ debut campaign in the MAAC, the standings looked like this at the end of the regular season: Quinnipiac, Merrimack, Marist. And while Saint Peter’s and Siena have made big splashes this year and jumped into the mix, the three top teams f

By Jack Lawhorne NFL Honors is about far more than identifying who had the “best stats” and calling it a day. While numbers play a major role — and often should be the starting point — they don’t always tell the full story on their own. Context, role, and responsibility help explain what those numbers actually mean. Below are my picks for the NFL’s major awards, with context behind each decision and where the margins were razor-thin. Most Valuable Player (MVP) The Case This u

Jack Lawhorne, Joey Motroni — Student Reporters North Andover, MA — A first half masterclass from Joe Gallo’s defense lifted the Merrimack men’s basketball team (13–9, 9–2 MAAC) to a 67–59 win over Saint Peter’s (11–7, 8–2 MAAC) Saturday afternoon at a packed Lawler Arena hosting more than 500 students for Alumni Day. The victory elevates the Warriors to first place in the MAAC over the Peacocks, who entered Saturday’s contest with a half-game advantage over MC. The Warriors

Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter New Rochelle, NY — The Merrimack men’s basketball team (12–9, 8–2 MAAC) fell to Iona (13–8, 5–5 MAAC) in a heartbreaker at the buzzer by a score of 61–60 Thursday night. With 11.1 seconds remaining and the Warriors up two, MC came up empty at the free throw line, and Iona took advantage — marching down the court and beating the buzzer with a last-second three pointer from Toby Harris. With Saint Peter’s off until their impending matchup Saturd

Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter Poughkeepsie, NY — The Merrimack men’s basketball team (12 – 8, 8 –1 MAAC ) defeated Marist (12 –6, 6–3 MAAC) by a score of 68–55 Monday afternoon to remain tied atop the MAAC standings with Saint Peter’s. The Warriors won this game on defense as they held the Red Foxes to just 55 points on 33% shooting from the field. Marist’s 55 points are the lowest scoring total MC has allowed this season, as well as Marist’s second lowest scoring output o

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter North Andover, MA – A late first-half three-point barrage propelled the Merrimack men’s basketball team (11–8, 7–1 MAAC) to an 83–71 victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats (12–7, 5–3 MAAC) Saturday afternoon at Lawler Arena. Tye Dorset, Ernest Shelton, Kevair Kennedy, and Todd Brogna each knocked down three-pointers before Kennedy capped a decisive 14–0 Warriors run with a dazzling layup. The surge, which spanned from the 7:20 to the 2:41 mark of

Jack Lawhorne — Student Reporter Albany, NY — A 17–0 first half run which included six straight points from both Ernest Shelton and KC Ugwuakazi propelled the Merrimack men’s basketball team to a 63–59 win over the Siena Saints Friday night at MVP Arena. Merrimack led by as much as 19 and held a 16 point lead at the half. The Warriors defense limited Siena to just 22 points in the opening period before the Saints surged back in the second half. Siena cut the deficit to as lit

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter North Andover, MA – Kevair Kennedy played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the Merrimack men’s basketball team (9–7, 5–0 MAAC) to a 73–66 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers Sunday afternoon at Lawler Arena. Ernest Shelton and Tye Dorset each sank multiple three-pointers and finished in double-digits. Off the bench, KC Ugwuakazi played 23 minutes and scored 6 points in addition to securing 7 reboun

Jack Lawhorne, Joey Motroni – Student Reporters North Andover, MA – The Merrimack Warriors men’s basketball team (8–7, 4–0 MAAC) returned home to Lawler Arena Friday afternoon for a MAAC contest against Mount St. Mary’s. The Warriors come into this game with revenge on their minds after they were eliminated from the MAAC conference tournament by The Mount in their semi-final matchup last season. MC entered Friday’s game with an opportunity to climb back above the .500 mark wh

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter Fairfield, CT –  The Merrimack men’s basketball team returned to the hardwood Monday afternoon following a 2-week Christmas recess for their third MAAC contest of the season, this time at the Pitt Center vs. Sacred Heart. 1st Half The Warriors came out of the gates with an 8–0 flurry as they hit their first three shots, two of which came from three-point range. At the same time, Merrimack defended well. The Warriors’ third early steal on the d

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter Burlington, VT – The Merrimack Men’s Basketball Team (6–7, 2–0 MAAC) wrapped up the first stretch of the season at Patrick Gymnasium Sunday afternoon with a 66–59 loss to Vermont (7–5). HOW IT HAPPENED The Warriors struggled shooting in the first half (8–26 FG, 1–12 3PT), but finished the period +3 in the turnover department to stay in the game. MC had it within three (24–21) before the Catamounts closed the segment with a 6–0 run to enter hal

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter PRINCETON, N.J. – Riding a three-game win streak and entering the final couple of contests before a 15-day break over Christmas, the Merrimack Men’s Basketball team (6–6, 2–0 MAAC) grinded out a massive underdog victory over Princeton University (3–10) Wednesday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium. According to ESPN analytics, Merrimack entered the game with a 36.6% chance to win compared to Princeton’s 63.4% mark. But the Warriors escaped with a 59–5

Jack Lawhorne, Joey Motroni – Student Reporters North Andover, MA –  On a chilly early-December Sunday afternoon at Lawler Arena, the Merrimack Men’s Basketball team (5–6, 2–0 MAAC) defeated Fairfield (5–5, 0–2 MAAC) in each team’s second game of conference play. Both teams entered the contest coming off closely-contested MAAC season openers on Thursday and Friday night. Merrimack won vs. Rider whereas Fairfield fell to Manhattan, and each game was decided by four points or l

Jack Lawhorne, Joey Motroni – Student Reporters North Andover, MA –  The Merrimack Men’s Basketball team (4–6) opened up conference play in the MAAC Thursday night at Lawler Arena with a narrow 68–66 win over Rider (1–6). The Warriors entered the matchup looking to build some momentum after an up-and-down past week of action that saw them go 1–2 as part of the Cathedral Classic. While Rider’s win to loss ratio is certainly nothing to write home over, the record doesn’t tell t

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter Philadelphia, PA  – The Merrimack Men’s Basketball team wrapped up the Cathedral Classic on Sunday with a 66–60 win over the La Salle Explorers. HOW IT HAPPENED: 1st HALF Ernest Shelton opened the scoring immediately, firing a three-pointer without hesitation through a foul. La Salle answered with a two but Tye Dorset responded with a trey on MC’s second possession. Dorset drained another triple to make it three straight scoring possessions to

Jack Lawhorne – Student Reporter Philadelphia, PA  – The Merrimack Men’s Basketball team took on the Hofstra Pride at the Palestra Saturday afternoon for their second game of the Cathedral Classic. The Warriors dropped the first game of the tournament the day prior to Penn. MC shot just 14% (4–28) from three-point land to fall to 2–5, but Head Coach Joe Gallo remains confident in the group’s ability to shoot and unfazed by the losing record. “This is the best shooting team to

Philadelphia, PA – Following a seven-day hiatus through Thanksgiving, the Merrimack Men’s Basketball team returned to action on Black Friday vs. the University of Pennsylvania for the first game of the Cathedral Classic. Headed into Friday, the Warriors sat at 2–4 — coming off a loss to the defending national champion Florida Gators, but fresh off big wins over BU and Maine. Penn, on the other hand, entered 3–2. 1st HALF The game got off to a slow start with both teams missin

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College football team (4–8) wrapped up its season Saturday afternoon at Duane Stadium on Senior Day with a come-from-behind win over the Fordham University Rams (1–11). QB Ayden Pereira, along with a tremendous defensive effort, led the fourth-quarter comeback after the Warriors entered the final frame down 26–13. HOW IT HAPPENED Fordham got on the board immediately by way of a blocked-punt-turned-safety on the very first drive of the game