Indiana pulls away from Merrimack in second half

Mikey Watkins (Photo: Getty Images)

For a second-straight game, the Merrimack men’s basketball team hung with one of the top teams in college basketball for the first half, but Indiana pulled away in the second half en route to an 81-49 win on Sunday afternoon.

Merrimack trailed by only six points at halftime. On Thursday night, the Warriors trailed No. 5 Gonzaga by 11 points at halftime before the Zags also pulled away in the second half.

Jordan Minor once again led the Warriors with 13 points. Malik Edmead, who made his second start in a row, scored 11 points for the Warriors in 27 minutes. Ziggy Reid also finished with 11 points; he shot 3 for 8 from long range and played a team-high 34 minutes.

Merrimack’s zone defense again caused problems for the Power 5 program. The Warriors won the turnover battle 17-10 and they forced 10 steals.

Ahead 36-30 to open the second half, the Hoosiers went on a 5-0 run to open up an 11-point lead early in the second half. Minor hit his first three of the season to cut the deficit to 41-33, but shortly thereafter, Indiana went on a 13-0 run to take a 21-point lead.

GAME NOTES: Minor has scored in double figures in seven straight games. … The Warriors faced four Power 5 opponents this season and they forced an average of nearly 15 turnovers per game. … Merrimack hit 11 threes, which was a season-high for the team.

NEXT: The Warriors are off until next Tuesday (Dec. 21) when they travel to Bangor, Maine to take on the Maine Black Bears (5 p.m. tipoff).

Indiana 81, Merrimack 49
at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Merrimack (4-8):    30-19--49
Indiana (8-2):      36-45--81
Merrimack (49): Jordan Minor 4-4-13; Ziggy Reid 4-0-11; Malik Edmead 4-0-11; Jordan McKoy 2-0-6; Mikey Watkins 0-0-0; Mykel Derring 2-0-6; James Berry III 0-2-2; Justin Connolly 0-0-0; Ryan Isaacson 0-0-0; Ryan Miller 0-0-0; Thomas Hall 0-0-0
Indiana (81): Trayce Jackson-Davis 5-6-16; Race Thompson 6-2-14; Xavier Johnson 3-2-9; Miller Kopp 3-0-8; Parker Stewart 0-0-0; Jordan Geronimo 5-3-13; Tamar Bates 2-2-7; Michael Durr 1-3-5; Logan Duncomb 1-2-4; Anthony Leal 1-0-3; Rob Phinisee 0-2-2; Khristian Lander 0-0-0
Attendance: 17,222 (17,222)

Exclusively for subscribers, here is my breakdown of Sunday’s game …