Takeaways: Merrimack's defense stands out in loss to VCU

VCU beat Merrimack 63-42 on Wednesday night. The Warriors struggled from 3-point range, which proved to be a huge difference in the game, but the Warriors showed encouraging signs defensively and Sean Trumper is emerging as a key member of the Warriors.

Here are my takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

— I’m not suggesting Merrimack would have won the game, but if the Warriors had shot better from a 3-point range, the game would have been much closer. The Warriors were 1 for 19 from beyond the arc. If you plug in last season’s average (30.9%), Merrimack would have hit an additional five 3-pointers, and 63-42 would have been 63-57.

Devon Savage was 1 for 10 from 3-point range and looked frustrated at the end of the night. The rest of the Warriors were 0 for 9.