Merrimack's second-half comeback falls short against Mount
NORTH ANDOVER — Mount St. Mary’s led by as many as 21 points early in the second half, and the Mountaineers survived a late Merrimack push to hang on for a 66-58 win over the Warriors on Friday night.
Mount established a 37-22 lead at halftime and led 41-26 at the 15:15 mark of the second half before the Warriors went on a 26-8 run to get within three points with about five minutes left.
“Tale of two halves,” said Merrimack coach Joe Gallo. “They came out, and give those guys credit, they took it to us in every aspect of the way they attacked us on both ends. They made it tough for us to score and they were playing offense with a lot of confidence.”
Mount shot 54 percent from 3-point range in the first half (7 for 13) but the Warriors limited the Mountaineers to just four 3-point attempts in the second half.
“One of those attempts in the second half was the last one,” Gallo said, “so it was really three attempts in 19 minutes. We look more at attempts. We want to keep that number down.
“Four or five weeks from now, we’re in one-and-done situations. If we come out like that and lay an egg, we’re done. So we’ll learn from this.”
The Warriors will play Rider on Sunday. On Friday night, the Broncs lost to Saint Peter’s 67-64. This season, they are 8-13 (4-6 MAAC).
“I don’t have a worry in the world about how we’ll respond,” Gallo said. “[Saturday] they’ll be back at it in the gym getting ready for Sunday.”