Marist Men’s Basketball Wins Thriller at Merrimack

NORTH ANDOVER, Massachusetts – The Marist University men’s basketball team earned a 61-60 victory at Merrimack on Sunday.

Tarik Watson’s layup with 7.7 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner as the win enabled Marist to clinch in berth in the MAAC Championships, which will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey from March 11-15.

First Half
Two three-pointers by Josh Pascarelli staked Marist to a 9-6 lead, which forced a Merrimack timeout at the 14:39 mark.

Travis Roberts’ layup gave Marist a 13-8 lead, the Red Foxes’ largest to that point, but Merrimack tied the game with a 5-0 spurt.

Elijah Lewis’ layup put Marist up 17-14 at the 8:08 mark. Merrimack countered with a 6-0 run, but Roberts’ three tied the score at 20.

Field goals by Tarik Watson and Lewis on consecutive possessions in the final two minutes put Marist back in front, and the Red Foxes led 26-25 after 20 minutes.

Second Half
Matt Becht opened the scoring with a three to give Merrimack a 28-26 lead, but Marist answered with a 7-0 run.

Martin Kawa’s four-point play put Marist in front 45-38 with 12:08 to play, which was the Red Foxes’ largest lead of the game.

Becht’s three tied the score at 51-all with 7:54 remaining, and Budd Clark’s three-point play gave the Warriors a 54-53 lead with 7:16 left. This three-point play was the first of three lead changes in a span of 1:25.

Pascarelli’s three tied the game at 58 at the 3:48 mark.

Bryan Etumnu’s layup gave Merrimack a 60-58 advantage with 2:15 left.

Watson split a pair of free throws with 1:03 remaining to bring Marist to within one.

On Quinnipiac’s ensuing possession, Elijah Lewis blocked a shot by Budd Clark, and Jaden Daughtry secured the rebound. Daughty then pushed the ball up the floor to Watson, who hit what proved to be the game-winning layup with 7.7 seconds remaining. Merrimack then hit a shot coming down the floor that would have given the Warriors the win, but it came after the buzzer.

Marist returns home for back-to-back games at McCann Arena this weekend, starting with Canisius on Friday, Feb. 21.