Merrimack snaps six-game losing streak at Saint Francis

Photo: Merrimack Athletics

LORETTO, Pa. — Jordan Minor tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds to carry Merrimack to a 65-64 overtime win over St. Francis of Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The win snapped a six-game losing skid for the Warriors.

“Glad to get back on the right side of things,” said Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo. “That was a really good college basketball game, both teams fought obviously right down to the last two misses at the end. B teams played really hard. I’m glad we came up on the good side.”

Malik Edmead's layup gave Merrimack a 65-63 lead with 51 seconds left in overtime and Josh Cohen of St. Francis made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left, leaving the Red Flash behind by a point.

Ziggy Reid had 14 points for Merrimack (9-14, 4-6 Northeast Conference). Mikey Watkins added 10 points. Jordan McKoy had 10 points and six rebounds.

Cohen scored a career-high 26 points plus 10 rebounds and five assists for the Red Flash (7-16, 3-9), who have now lost four straight games. Maxwell Land added 15 points. Ramiir Dixon-Conover had six steals.

The Warriors evened the season series against the Red Flash. St. Francis defeated Merrimack 62-46 on Jan. 15.

“I thought we played a lot harder and we played with a lot more energy (than we did in the first game),” Gallo said. “Looking back the first time we played them, we just took a ton of bad shots that led to good offense for them. So we really talked about keeping the ball moving, the ball will find the right guy that's supposed to take the shot and for the most part, I thought we took a lot of really good shots and played really good offense.”

GAME NOTES: Minor added his team-high eighth double-double of the season. His 16 rebounds on Saturday were a career-high. Minor also played a career-high 45 minutes. … Merrimack scored 36 points in the paint during the victory.

NEXT: The Warriors will return home to Hammel Court to take on Central Connecticut on Thursday night at 7 p.m.