Samford beats Merrimack as Warriors go cold late

After a hot streak early in the second half, Merrimack went cold from the floor in the final minutes, resulting in a 79-71 loss at Samford on Saturday.

The Warriors hit just one of their last eight shot attempts after hitting 10 shots in a row earlier in the second half.

The Warriors had a one-point lead with 4:59 left in the game after Devon Savage hit a jumper. From that point on, the Warriors missed five consecutive shots, and Samford was on a 17-6 run before Jordan Derkack cut the deficit to eight points with 37 seconds left.

Freshman guard Budd Clark and Savage led the Warriors with 16 points each. Derkack had 13 points. Bryan Etumnu had nine points and 10 rebounds.

NOTES: The Warriors shot 15 for 17 from the free-throw line. Derkack was perfect (6 for 6). ... The Warriors won the turnover battle 19-16. ... Etumnu had five blocks.

NEXT: The Warriors will finish up at the Samford MTE on Saturday with a game against Alabama State. The Hornets are 1-1 in the MTE this weekend. They also lost to Samford (99-67) and beat North Carolina A&T 88-73.

Samford 79, Merrimack 71
at Pete Hanna Center
Merrimack (3-3):    30-41—71
Samford (4-2):      33-46—79
Merrimack (71): Savage 6-0-16, Clark 7-2-16, Derkack 3-6-13, Etumnu 3-3-9, Diallo 1-2-5, Stinson 1-2-5, McKoy 2-0-5, O'Connell 1-0-2, Pluntauskas 0-0-0; Totals 24-15-71.
Samford (79): Campbell 6-3-19, Staton-McCray 4-8-18, Jones 4-1-13, Achor 5-1-11, Graziani 1-0-2, Allenspach 3-0-6, Holloway 2-0-4, Walls 1-0-3, Hicks 1-0-3, Johnson 0-0-0, Leopard 0-0-0; Totals 27-13-79.
Three-Pointers: MC Savage 4, Derkack 1, Diallo , Stinson 1, McKoy 1; SAM Campbell 4, Staton-McCray 2, Jones 4, Walls 1, Hicks 1.
Attendance: 818