Merrimack and Mount St. Mary’s meet Friday afternoon at Lawler Arena (3 p.m. tip) in a rematch of last season’s MAAC semifinals, the first time the programs have faced each other since that March meeting.
The Mountaineers ended Merrimack’s season last spring in Atlantic City with a 57-55 victory. This time, the Warriors come in with momentum, undefeated in MAAC play at 3-0 and winners of five of their last six games.
Mount enters the matchup 1-2 in conference play, but has quietly found a footing by going 3-1 in its last four games after opening the season 2-8. That early record came against a demanding non-conference slate that included West Virginia, Cincinnati and Ohio State.
When: Friday, 3 p.m
Where: Lawler Arena (North Andover, Massachusetts)
TV/stream: Watch (ESPN+)/NESN
– The Warriors are just 1-7 all-time against Mount, with the lone win coming on January 9, 2020. That match marked the first meeting between the two as members of the NEC, and the Mountaineers have since won seven straight in the series.
– Junior forward Luke McEldon leads Mount in both scoring (11.3 points per game) and rebounding (5.8) as a senior guard Xavier Lipscomb pace the Mountaineers in assists at 4.3 per game.
— ESPN Analytics gives Merrimack a 72.4 percent chance of winning Friday’s game. KenPom is a bit more conservative and expects a 65 percent chance of a Warriors win and a final score of 71-67.
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