Etumnu and Derkack lead Merrimack past LIU, Warriors can clinch the NEC this week
NORTH ANDOVER — Bryan Etumnu and Jordan Derkack scored 18 points apiece as Merrimack beat Long Island 83-68 on Saturday night for its eighth straight win.
Etumnu added five rebounds, three steals, and four blocks for the Warriors (17-10, 11-2 Northeast Conference). Adam Clark had 17 points.
Andre Washington led the way for the Sharks (6-19, 5-8) with 16 points. Terell Strickland added 10 points, four assists and three steals for LIU. Eric Acker also had nine points.
The Warriors are now in control of the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Conference. Merrimack can likely clinch the NEC regular-season championship, the No. 1 seed and home court throughout the NEC playoffs with a win on Thursday night at home against Saint Francis combined with a Central Connecticut loss at Wagner.
Because the head-to-head matchup is 1-1, the tie-breaker is a bit more convoluted. The tie-breaker would include record against teams in the 1-9 order of the standings. Because Merrimack and CCSU would tie for first, the next teams (right now) in the tie-breaker are FDU and Sacred Heart. The Warriors are currently undefeated against both of those teams.
Mathematically, the Warriors have a better than 85 percent chance of clinching the No. 1 seed.
The Warriors led Central Connecticut by 1.5 games in the standings. If both teams win (or lose) on Thursday, the Warriors will still hold lead the conference, but will have to wait until Saturday’s game at FDU for a chance to clinch.
