Kevair Kennedy scored a game-high 23 points on Wednesday night, in helping to lead Merrimack College to a 72-65 non-conference men’s basketball win over Maine in a game played at Hammel Court in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Maine had a couple leads in the first half, the biggest of which was a 23-17 advantage on a jumper by TJ Biel to cap a 9-1 run. Merrimack responded with a 17-4 spurt to take a seven point lead (34-27) at the break, helped by 10 Black Bear turnovers. The Warriors pushed that lead to 12 on two occasions early in the second half, before Maine came back to life to tie it. An 11-0 Black Bears run on a three-pointer by Logan Carey, three free throws by Ace Flagg and two by Keelan Steele, and another three-pointer by Issac Bonilla made it 49-49 with 11:57 left. A layup by Kennedy though just over a minute later would jump MC back into the lead for good in improving to 2-3 on the season.
Kennedy (11-14 free throws) added six rebounds and five assists to his point total in the win for Merrimack out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Ernest Shelton put in 14 points, while Todd Brogna and Andres Marrero had 11 points each. Biel led Maine with 18 points (8-12 field goals) and seven rebounds. Steele also got into double figures with 13 points and seven boards. Carey and Ryan Mabrey chipped in eight points a piece. Flagg fouled out late finishing with four points, four rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot in 21 minutes. The Black Bears turned the ball over 17 times, and got outscored 17-7 in points off those errors. Maine (0-5) still in search of that first victory will host Ivy League foe Brown University on Sunday on Skip Chappelle Court at Memorial Gym in Orono at 2 p.m.
Photos courtesy of UMaine Athletics
