Merrimack needed a spark. A.J. Lesburt Jr. brought a flamethrower.
Lesburt hit 7 of 12 3-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points as the Warriors got their first win of the season with a 73-60 victory over UAlbany on Sunday afternoon at Broadview Center.
The game was part of the Metro-America East challenge.
Game Headlines
A.J. Lesburt Jr. led the way from beyond the arc
Lesburt set the tone 54 seconds in, hitting a 3-pointer off an Eli Wilborn assist for the game’s first points. UAlbany (2-1) led only once, 7-5 early, before Jeremiah Anderson’s fast-break layup put Merrimack (1-2) back in front at 14:54 of the first half. The Warriors never trailed again.
Lesburt took over from there. His steal and dunk made it 20-12 midway through the half, and he hit three more 3-pointers down the stretch to push the lead to 29-21. Merrimack took a 30-26 lead into the locker room.
Lesburt opened the second half the same way, with 3-pointers on two of the Warriors’ first three possessions. Denver Anglin’s 3-pointer at 16:22 made it 40-30, Merrimack’s first double-digit lead.
Then UAlbany punched back. Down 43-34, the Great Danes scored nine straight, and Zach Matulu’s 3-pointer at 12:26 tied it at 43.
The Warriors had an answer. Ayden Johnson hit a jumper in the lane, JP Skoric came up with a steal that set up an Anglin 3-pointer, and Skoric added a layup for a 7-0 run. UAlbany clawed back within 50-48 at 9:05, but that was as close as it got.
Merrimack ran away with it from there, outscoring the Great Danes 18-5 over the next 6:30. Anderson’s steal set up a Johnson 3-pointer. Lesburt hit his seventh 3-pointer of the day for a 57-48 lead.
The Warriors have a typical day in the turnover department
The Great Danes committed 21 turnovers to Merrimack’s 10, and the Warriors turned those mistakes into a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers. Merrimack had 12 steals, including three each from Lesburt and Anderson.
Notebook: It wasn’t just Lesburt, the Warriors were hot from long range
— Merrimack went 12 of 26 from deep (46%), while UAlbany went 4 of 14 (29%). That’s a 36-12 edge that covered up the Great Danes’ advantages inside, where they outscored the Warriors 30-22 in the paint and 14-8 on second-chance points.
— Johnson added 13 points, and Anglin had 11 and went 5 of 6 at the line. Brogna had seven points, five rebounds and two blocks. Moore had four rebounds and two blocks off the bench, which outscored UAlbany’s reserves 17-7.
Scoring Summary
Quick Takeaways
WARRIORS LIVE (OR DIE) BY THE THREE: This isn’t a huge surprise, but the Warriors have lived or died by their success from 3-point range to start the year. On Sunday, they shot 46% from beyond the arc, and won. In losses to App. State and UMass Lowell, they shot 28% and 12.5% respectively.
Lesburt is the clearest example. He was 2 of 11 from deep over the first two games, then went 7 of 12 on Sunday.
