Kennedy leads Merrimack against Sacred Heart after 20-point game

Merrimack Warriors (6-7, 2-0 MAAC) at Sacred Heart Pioneers (5-8, 1-1 MAAC)

Fairfield, Connecticut; Monday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack visits Sacred Heart after Kevair Kennedy scored 20 points in Merrimack’s 66-59 loss to the Vermont Catamounts.

The Pioneers have gone 3-1 in home games. Sacred Heart is fifth in the MAAC scoring 75.8 points while shooting 43.0% from the field.

The Warriors are 2-0 in conference matchups. Merrimack gives up 72.0 points to opponents while being outscored by 7.2 points per game.

Sacred Heart is shooting 43.0% from the field this season, 1.8 percentage points lower than the 44.8% Merrimack allows to opponents. Merrimack’s 38.5% shooting percentage from the field this season is 7.0 percentage points lower than Sacred Heart has given up to its opponents (45.5%).

The Pioneers and Warriors face off Monday for the first time in MAAC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Dashon Gittens is averaging 15.1 points and 2.1 steals for the Pioneers. Nyle Ralph-Beyer is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Ernest Shelton is shooting 36.1% from beyond the arc with 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Warriors, while averaging 14.6 points. Kennedy is shooting 49.1% and averaging 17.0 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pioneers: 4-6, averaging 74.3 points, 29.5 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 7.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.7 points per game.

Warriors: 6-4, averaging 65.7 points, 23.1 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 40.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.