Saint Mary's survives upset-minded Merrimack

Merrimack gave Saint Mary’s all it could handle, but the Gaels found a way to pull out a 73-68 victory over the Warriors late Thursday night from California.

Sean Trumper finished with 13 points and four assists for the Warriors (5-8, 2-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Budd Clark added 12 points and eight assists for Merrimack. Matt Becht also had 12 points.

“That was an unbelievable college basketball game in a cool environment,” said Merrimack coach Joe Gallo.

Trumper had a 3-point look with just over a minute left that would have given the Warriors a lead. At the other end of the floor, it looked like the Warriors would get the ball with 17 seconds left and only down by one possession after the ball appeared to go off of SMC’s Mitchell Saxen, but the officials ruled it went off Trumper after a short review.

“We played our butts off,” Gallo said. “We had a 3-point shot that would have put us up one, on the road, that’s about as good as you can ask for. Really happy with the effort. Battled Stanford, had this game down to a one-possession game with a minute to go. Now, we’re looking to carry momentum into MAAC play.”

Trumper stepped up big for the Warriors in the absence of Bryan Etumnu, who missed the game with an injury. Saint Mary’s is the top-ranked KenPom team the Warriors have faced this season; entering the night, they were ranked No. 33 in the country.

“This is not the team you want to be shorthanded against,” Gallo said. “Bryan was out, Elliott, who was his backup, was out as well. We had to play some small ball. Trumper battled. When we went small, he got loose for some threes. He was huge. Overall, with five guys in double-figures, we were super unselfish against an unbelievable defensive team.”

The Warriors are off until Jan. 3 when they host Fairfield in their MAAC home opener.