Mount St. Mary’s knocked off No. 2-seed Merrimack 57-55 on Friday night in the MAAC semifinals.
Merrimack controlled the bulk of the first half, leading for over 16 minutes and holding as much as a seven-point advantage in the half. Although the Warriors led for as long as they did, Mount St. Mary’s found themselves in a one-point lead at the half.
The second half played out similar to the first, with the Warriors jumping back to a seven-point lead at the 12:31 mark. Merrimack kept a close edge, but Mount St. Mary’s continued to trim the lead, knotting the game twice before eventually going ahead in the contest with five minutes to play.
Down the stretch, Devon Savage hit a contested corner three for the Warriors, putting them ahead by one point with 1:45 left. The score remained the same after a few possessions and with 34 seconds to go, Mount’s Arlandus Keyes was fouled in the act of shooting, putting him on the line. Keyes converted both, giving the one point lead back to the Mount.
With a chance to take the lead, Sean Trumper missed a three-point attempt and Merrimack put the Mount’s Dallas Hobbs at the line for a 1-and-1. Hobbs made the front end but missed the back end, and with 11 ticks to play Merrimack would have one more opportunity to tie or win the game. With time running out, Matt Becht hoisted up a three-pointer that missed, giving the Mount the two-point victory.
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Trumper scored a game-high 20 points for Merrimack and had five rebounds.
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Adam “Budd” Clark chipped in with 13 points, seven assists.
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The Warriors led for more than half the game, controlling the lead for 27:22 despite the defeat.
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Merrimack scored more points in the paint (20-14) and had more fast break points (13-5).
