I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:43 pm

This backstory is a blend of some truths about my life and some that just make for a better transition into a DDSCB dynasty thread. However, if I had been able to pursue basketball as a coaching career, this is how you all know I would have wanted to do it, starting at one of the smallest programs in the nation and working my way up.

---

Legally blind from birth, Jonathan Sanders never thought he’d have a chance to participate in the sport he loved after college, never mind ever coaching in the ranks of NCAA’s Division I. But the fan of defensive-minded college ball managed to at least stay close to the game after spending his high school and college years as a student manager. The 2008 Ball State graduate spent the next decade and a half writing about sports nationally, eventually settling in North Andover, Massachusetts where he spent several years writing about the Warriors for local sports pages while eventually working his way up to doing live coverage of the games for WEEI in Lawrence. When an assistant job opened up in 2016, Sanders applied and became the team’s defensive practice coordinator and regional recruiting guru, a job he held until this spring when the AD announced the head coach’s sudden retirement due to undisclosed health matters, and Sanders’ ascension to head coach status at age 40.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” Sanders laughed in his first press conference as HC. “Maybe the AD decided Duke shouldn’t have the lock on promoting legally blind coaches to the hot seat!”

But the promotion shouldn’t shock anyone who knows much about what the Warriors have done since transitioning to the top division of college basketball. Sanders has played a hand in recruiting the entire team, including star center Bill Ellis, who is among the elite all-around players in any division. He joined the program when they were playing Division II ball, and has adjusted ably to his role as an ambassador for why the Northeast Conference was quick to snap them up. And his supporting cast, though not flashy by any means, are all built of hard-nosed defenders who embrace the team’s identity as a man-to-man juggernaut. It’s only a matter of time before we see these Warriors competing on larger stages than Hammel Court.

We’ll definitely be watching this situation closely here in North Andover.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby Wayne23 » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:04 pm

Lots of Massachusetts focus here. PG's dynasty is BC, and I live in Western MA.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:06 pm

Wayne23 wrote:Lots of Massachusetts focus here. PG's dynasty is BC, and I live in Western MA.


I live in Indiana, but real-life Merrimack has impressed me this year with their willingness to play big schools and take them all the way.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:04 pm

Team Roster
PG – Mike Brown (6’1” 170 lbs Fr) Fall River MA (Durfee HS) 2.6 GPA
SG – Rashard Crosby (6’5” 177 lbs So) Westwood MA (Xavierian Brothers HS) 2.4 GPA
SF – Sam Keating (6’8” 204 lbs Fr) Harwich MA (Cape Cod Regional Tech HS) 2.3 GPA
PF – Joel Mattox (6’7” 193 lbs Jr) Newton MA (Newton South HS) 2.3 GPA
C – Bill Ellis (6’9” 256 lbs Sr) Leominster MA (Leominster HS) 2.5 GPA

6 – B.J. Perine (6’6” 238 lbs Sr) Malden MA (Malden Catholic HS) 2.5 GPA
7 – Josh Cabrera (6’8” 239 lbs So) Middleton MA (North Shore Tech HS) 2.5 GPA
8 – Justin Parker (6’2” 186 lbs Jr) Newtonville MA (Newton North HS) 2.7 GPA
9 – Paul Morgan (6’7” 233 lbs So) Billerica MA (Billerica Memorial HS) 2.2 GPA
10 –Vince Rawlings (6’7” 236 lbs So) Hudson MA (Hudson HS) 2.5 GPA
11 – David Hill (6’4” 171 lbs So) Wayland MA (Wayland HS) 2.8 GPA
12 – Gordon Miller (6’7” 211 lbs Jr) South Yarmouth MA (Dennis-Yarmouth Regional HS) 2.4 GPA*
13 – Sam Nicholson (6’7” 227 lbs Fr) Dorchester MA (Economics & Business Academy HS) 2.3 GPA
14 – David Walls (6’0” 176 lbs Fr) Northampton MA (Northampton HS) 2.4 GPA
15 – Deveren Walters (6’3” 219 lbs Fr) Whitinsville MA (Northbridge HS) 2.3 GPA*
_________
* Walk-On

August 7, 2021
Merrimack point guard Mike Brown, a 6’1” freshman who is head coach Jonathan Sanders’ top recruit of the year, got a shocking nomination for the Norton Award when the sport’s top award organization held its annual press conference. Ranked inside the top 20 early-on, Brown is the team’s top outside shooter and has shown excellent athleticism over the years for Fall River’s Durfee High School. Whether he has the ability to dominate in the conference as a freshman remains to be seen, but it is highly unlikely he will remain on this list through the entire season. Still, Merrimack College has to be honored to have a player getting any kind of national attention at this point in their transition into the big time world of NCAA basketball.

September 18, 2021
The schedule has just been released for the upcoming season, and clearly it’s a big “money year” for the Warriors, as the Athletic Director has booked the team to play eight road games in their stretch of 11 non-conference games. The three home games will be against Boston University (Nov. 24), Delaware (Dec. 1) and Dixie State (Dec. 26). The team will play Utah, Iowa State and Texas Tech in the first seven days of the season on the road, along with a trip to Cincinnati (Nov. 28) and a brutal stretch on the road in December against BYU (Dec. 5), St. Mary’s (Dec. 8) and Washington (Dec. 12) before a reprieve against fellow D1 newcomer Tarleton State (Dec. 19) on the road during finals week.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” says Sanders. “But I firmly believe these players wearing the Merrimack uniform are ready to put this program on the map. We’re not going to get noticed in January when our conference disappears from the national conversation. We’re going to get noticed by being willing to hit the road and play the big boys even when the basketball powers expect we’ll get blown apart. Let our defense show them who we are.”

Who they are is a program with hoops buzz and the ability to bring in local recruits. With only two scholarships available to offer, Sanders has already completed recruiting, with verbal commitments from two-star regional guards he feels will be ready to jump in and contribute immediately.

Anthony McDonald, a top 500 recruit from Bristol, Connecticut, is a solid defender who can handle and pass well as a team leader. At 6’3” he got overlooked by a lot of schools in the area, but he isn’t afraid to shoot the ball and he has the athleticism to get the ball inside on any possession.

Meanwhile, Derrick Jacobs comes in from Worcester, bringing with him a killer outside shot, top-notch athleticism and a ton of potential despite being ranked in the 700’s nationally by most recruiting services. He’ll fit in well with the players Sanders already has on the team, and he may be a redshirt candidate if the need arises.

One glaring issue is that the regional class was not strong on big men, which will mean there is room for players to step up from the reserves to determine who will follow in senior center Bill Ellis’ footsteps when he graduates next spring. Though the roster is currently on the short end of the height spectrum, sophomores Josh Cabrera (6’8”) and Paul Morgan (6’7”) should use their time off the bench this year to see who might be most capable.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Wed Dec 22, 2021 11:47 pm

November 14, 2021
Merrimack (0-0) @ Utah (0-0)

We opened the game on an 8-2 run and from the earliest moments we had Utah playing perfectly at our preferred pace until the Utes showed off early fast-break moves and tied it 11-11 with 15:28 to go in the first half. But led by Bill Ellis’ hot shooting touch we put together another solid run, leading 18-13 after the next three minutes. They fought back again to keep it close, but free-throws really proved to be an early separator. Up 31-26 with 5:53 to play, we had hit 14 of 16 from the charity stripe, negating the home team’s 63-percent shooting from the field with our full-court defensive press. Still we could not put them away, and as our shooters cooled everywhere but at the line, Utah fought back. By halftime our lead was five, up 39-34 having never trailed, but everyone except our players seemed to feel we were playing on borrowed time. Ellis had a team-high 23 points to go with six boards and three steals at the break.

The Utes came out sharp to start the half on a 10-4 run to take their first lead of the game with just over 16 minutes remaining. From there the game became stifling on both ends of the court, our defense proving solid enough to at least keep us in the fight, down 47-48 with 12:13 remaining after trailing by as many as five. Mike Brown put us back on top by one with a pair of free-throws, at which point this became a back-and-forth battle. Our ability to draw fouls in close contact situations kept us in a game we should have been losing by double-figures, but our team stayed calm under pressure and continued to perform at the line. We led by three with nine minutes remaining and clung to a 67-65 advantage with just 5:27 to play, thanks to a bucket by Ellis that gave him 40 points for the game. Alas, we have little depth and needed to keep him in the game for even a chance to win. The game came down to the final seconds, but we were able to outlast them from the line to win 81-74!

Utah fans may never forgive the referees – we were 41 of 49 from the line compared to the Utes’ 24 of 52. That was a big reason for Ellis’ breakout performance, as 30 of his 46 points came from the line -- that’s a hell of a statistic! In the end three of our players wound up in foul trouble, while for the Utes two players fouled out and three others had four personals.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (46 pts 12 reb 3 stl 2 ast 3 blk)
Honorable Mention: Mike Brown (19 pts 2 reb 2 ast)

November 17, 2021
Merrimack (1-0) @ Iowa State (1-0)

The AD did us no favors with this brutal road schedule, except we’re going to quickly know whether the last game was a fluke. At the least, I suspect we’re not going to have trouble filling 1200-seat Hammel Court this season!

Hilton Coliseum was rocking when we got this one started, but they let us get out to a 6-2 lead over the first three minutes, completely caught off guard by the fact that we were pressing from ‘go’ -- we already had three rebounds to their one and had already drawn two fouls on inside shots. We got hot on offense from there, building an 18-6 lead with 13:52 to go, seemingly able to score from anywhere! No match for our defense and unable to get a scoring onslaught going themselves, Iowa State seemed to fall apart, allowing us to silence the crowd with another 8-2 run, putting this one on the brink of becoming a blowout! We led by 15 with six minutes remaining, coasting into the half up 47-31. We led by as many as 25 midway through the half, and the subs went in. Up 78-54 with 6:06 to play, this one was never in doubt – we would win it without much further fuss, 86-68!

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (37 pts 12 reb 7 ast 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (22 pts 5 reb 2 ast) Justin Parker (11 pts 1 reb 1 stl)

November 21, 2021
Merrimack (2-0) @ Texas Tech (1-1)

For the third game in a row we led early based on strong free-throw shooting, but sloppy gameplay led Texas Tech to tie it at 14 with 12:40 to go, and their fans were definitely on their feet – word was getting out that we’re not an easy ‘buy win’ this year. True to our strengths, we clamped down defensively and though our shooters struggled, we still held them in a 19-19 tie with 6:41 remaining in the half. We found our touch down the stretch, however, and at the break we were ahead 36-27 and ready to make things happen! Despite their holding of Ellis and Brown to a combined 15 points and our team to a total of 15 rebounds, we were still in a good place thanks to strong play from our bench when it counted.

Texas Tech came out scrapping, but we held to our defensive game-plan and outscored them 9-5 in the first four minutes to slowly pull away. Ellis had gotten himself into foul trouble late in the first half, but others stepped up to show we’re capable of becoming more than a two-man team. The Red Raiders fought back from down as many as 18, but our 59-47 advantage with seven minutes to play had us positioned to win again on the road. Tech collapsed down the stretch against our press and we were able to keep them at bay in the final moments, winning our third in a row, 74-56!

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (17 pts 9 reb 1 ast 2 blk) – fouled out after 20 minutes
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (16 pts 4 ast) Joel Mattox (13 pts 4 reb 3 ast 3 stl) Josh Cabrera (10 pts 9 reb)

I’m told by the Athletic Department that our home season tickets have sold out for the first time, and the students are starting to camp out for their tickets like we’re playing at Cameron Indoor! This is setting up to be a fun season.

November 24, 2021
Boston University (3-1) @ Merrimack (3-0)

In front of a packed-in home crowd we got out to a stunning 14-3 lead on the Terriers in the first 6:30 of the game, despite being one of the worst three-point shooting teams against a team that on paper seemed to be ready to handle our press. What we lack from outside we more than make up for with our tenacious defense, our willingness to fight our way inside to draw fouls, and our ability to shut games down once we get to the line. We were in the double bonus with seven minutes left in the half, which allowed us to pull away 39-22 at the break, at which point Ellis already had himself a 12 point 10 rebound double-double.

The second half wasn’t particularly pretty, as Boston U lured us into the foul trap as they tried to climb back in. We led 72-63 with 2:42 to play after leading by as many as 20. But we’d shot 78% from the line, and that poise under pressure served us well down the stretch as our home fans made this place a raucous atmosphere. The Terriers showed no quit, however, and with less than a minute to play it was a one-possession game, our lead just 74-71 with :57 left! Their three-point power served them well in the final seconds, as they forced overtime with a three from just shy of halfcourt ending regulation knotted 76-76.

We came out fired up and ready to end this **** for good as the extra period opened with us on a 9-3 tear! But the Terriers kept it close when they needed it, clutch shooting pulling them within an 85-83 margin with just :32 left in the game. But Joel Mattox dunked it on a Sam Keating assist to make it 87-83, and the Terriers turned it over to put the game in our hands. A pair of Mike Brown free-throws sealed the deal as we won this one in overtime 89-83 to improve to 4-0.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (18 pts 13 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (17 pts 3 reb 6 ast) Rashard Crosby (16 pts 3 ast 2 stl) Sam Keating (14 pts 8 reb 3 blk)

The bad news: Ellis pulled his groin during overtime of the Boston University win, and he could miss a couple weeks. That’s going to be critical, as we’ll have to split minutes between Cabrera, Mattox and Morgan to make sure we don’t completely get outclassed without our best player. It’s gonna be rough though, as we’re very short at the center and power forward positions. Some guys are going to get a chance to show if they can step up, and I will be watching.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby PointGuard » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:25 am

Always good to see JK baaack with a new Dynasty report.

I didn't know that Jon Scheyer was legally blind...made me do a little research...very interesting...glad you mentioned that.

Pretty impressive that a player from Merrimac is a Norton Award nominee.

I expected that your team's road schedule during pre-conference play would be a killer...BUT...congratulations on winning the first 3 road games.
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:35 am

PointGuard wrote:I didn't know that Jon Scheyer was legally blind...made me do a little research...very interesting...glad you mentioned that.


Yeah, just goes to show what damage a little poke in the eye can do. I could never get cleared to play anything more than one on one in high school because with my lack of depth perception and peripheral vision, a hit to the head was almost inevitable. And with my risk of detached retina being high, it was a no-go. But I could shoot 95% from the line and my coach would use me in one on one contests (me being a manager) to show cocky players that there's plenty a guy who practices his shot incessantly can do :)

I still wish I could have passed the physical to be used as a decoy in late-game situations. Imagine me coming in with thick-assed glasses strapped on, the fouls would be immediate, and so would my free-throws ;)
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby PointGuard » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:44 am

Better yet, you should have gone out onto the court with dark glasses on. :cool: Then have on of your teammates push you out onto the court to point you toward your team's basket. I guess carrying a white cane also would have been a bit much. :D But me thinks the opponents would have had a lot of explaining to do after getting beat. ;)
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:52 pm

November 28, 2021
Merrimack (4-0) @ Cincinnati (1-1)

Cincinnati scored the first six points and rushed out to a 13-7 lead with 12:13 to go in the first half. But our defensive mindset remained intact even while trailing, and slowly we clawed our way back in. With a Rashard Crosby three-point jump shot we pulled within two, down 27-29 with 1:19 left in the half, and we felt good going into the half down 31-35 because we knew we’d shown no quit. Eight of our players had scored at least a basket, and even though no one was having a star-making performance, we were still within four.

So of course the Bearcats did what they needed to do – they throttled us 9-1 in the first two minutes of play, and though we were having the game of our lives from beyond the arc, there’s no way this team keeps up in a shoot-out without defensive stops. We trailed 40-53 with 13:28 remaining in the game, and though we’d rallied to within nine points with five minutes to play, they’d had an answer for everything so far. They outlasted us down the stretch as we lost our first game of the season, 66-77.

Player of the Game: Sam Keating (12 pts 4 reb 2 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (14 pts 4 ast) B.J. Perine (10 pts 1 ast)

December 1, 2021
Delaware (1-3) @ Merrimack (4-1)

The fans came out in force tonight for our last home game until the day after Christmas, and it really helped boost our energy levels to be able to feel the presence of our fans as we fought our way to a 9-5 lead with 15:32 remaining in the first half. Though we didn’t break it wide open early, sans the presence of Ellis, I do like what I have seen from these young men as they prove we’re a team that fights together. With 7:11 to play we led 24-17, and though we weren’t able to get much separation down the stretch we still led 40-36 at the break. In the second half we stuck to our full-court press and dared them to break through. Instead we expanded our lead carefully, up 61-50 with 12:29 to play in the game. They never got close, as we were able to put them away quietly and efficiently to win 89-70.

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (24 pts 2 reb 6 ast)
Honorable Mention: Rashard Crosby (14 pts 6 reb 5 ast 2 stl)

December 5, 2021
Merrimack (5-1) @ #22 Brigham Young (6-1)

The Cougars are undefeated at home, and have only played a single road game, a neutral-court loss to #7 Duke by nine in the second round of the Preseason NIT. Like us they also have an overtime victory, a 96-90 win over then-#19 West Virginia, but they have nothing that matches our trio of road wins to open the season.

Of course we go into the game lacking our star center, who will miss at least half of this four-game road trip. So …

We fought hard early but the Cougars got out to a 13-22 lead on us with 11:06 to play in the first half, and I could tell we were gassed, though the team sure didn’t quit. We did, however, get blown away early and often. BYU had a 19-point lead on us with 5:11 to play, and they coasted into the half with a 32-47 lead. And though we got to within a dozen at least twice, BYU put us awy down the stretch, and in convincing fashion. We’d go on to lose this one 73-89 as we fell to 5-2.

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (15 pts 1 reb 7 ast)
Honorable Mention: B.J. Perine (12 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk)


December 8, 2021
Merrimack (5-2) @ #20 Saint Mary’s (6-1)

We built an 8-3 lead on the Gaels in the first three minutes, but we got into early foul trouble and let them get into the bonus with over 13 minutes left in the half, which was a potential disaster. Though they tied it 13-13 at that point, it wasn’t until the 10:28 mark that we surrendered the lead 14-15, to the roaring approval of their fans. A 6-0 run for the Gaels over the next three minutes put us in some trouble, but we kept fighting through our shooting drought. Slowly the Gaels’ lead, which had ballooned to 12, began to shrink again. With 3:05 to play in the half we pulled within five, down 22-27, thanks to a Crosby three! Less than a minute later it was another triple, this time by Mike Brown, that tied it 27-27 and cleared the slate. A jumper at the buzzer gave them a 28-29 halftime lead, but we’d made our presence known.

Sam Keating hit a three of his own with 18:19 to play, giving us the lead back 32-30, but we gave up a fast-break dunk that tied it again seconds later. This seemed destined to be a fight to the finish, as both teams were throwing punches and landing them. Slowly we worked our lead back to four, up 39-35 with 14 minutes remaining, and for once our defense seemed to have them stymied. Suddenly we had THEM in foul trouble, and our lead grew – up 47-35 with 10:09 to play! But they clawed their way back in, making it a mere 51-47 lead for our Warriors with just 2:33 left on the clock. Our worst nightmare ensued, with the Gaels scoring six points unanswered to take a 51-53 lead with just 1:20 left on the clock. We managed to tie it 55-55 on a pair of free-throws by Rashard Crosby with six seconds left, but we didn’t get back into the press quickly enough, and they got off a buzzer beater from the half court line that sunk us. Final score: Saint Mary’s 58, Merrimack 55.

Player of the Game: Sam Keating (14 pts 4 reb 1 stl 2 blk)
Honorable Mention: Rashard Crosby (13 pts 4 reb 1 ast)

December 12, 2021
Merrimack (5-3) @ Washington (6-2)

Ellis returns to the lineup just in time for a key matchup against Washington of the Pac 12 on the road. After tonight we have a week off before our last road game of the pre-conference slate, followed by a post-Christmas home game … a more relaxed end to what has started out as an unbelievably difficult yet rewarding season.

Washington got out to an 8-2 lead on us before we rallied to tie it 8-8 with 15:21 to play in the first half. The craziest thing about that rally was that Brown scored all eight points, really keeping us in this fight while Ellis found his footing. Brown stayed incredibly hot, hitting a three to put us up 15-14 with 11:18 to go, giving him 13 of our 15 points to that moment. But we struggled to find anyone else on our team to add fuel to the offense, until Ellis dunked it with 7:12 to play, making it a 17-19 game. We had to stick with our defense-minded play and hold out hope that the shots would fall later. We’d go into the half trailing the Huskies 25-30.

We played well to start the second half, and a triple by Mike Brown off a Sam Keating assist pulled us within two, down 33-35. Rashard Crosby nailed a triple that gave us a 41-38 lead with 9:55 to play, and moments later Sam Keating stole an errant pass, dished it to Joel Mattox, setting up a perfect dunk to make it a five point lead with 9:37 remaining. From there it was nailbitingly close as our defenders did everything within their power to keep us in this game despite our lack of offensive prowess. With 4:03 to play we were knotted 50-50, and it went all the way down to the final seconds before Mike Brown made a 14-foot jumper to put us up 62-61 with eight seconds left! Memories of our loss at Saint Mary’s flashed before our eyes, but this time Washington MISSED their buzzer-beater and we escaped with a critical road win!

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (25 pts 1 reb 1 ast)
Honorable Mention: Bill Ellis (13 pts 13 reb 2 ast 3 stl)

December 19, 2021
Merrimack (6-3) @ Tarleton State (2-7)

We’re ranked 12th in the NET based on strength of schedule, but that may not be enough to help us in-conference to overcome the general weakness of our conference competition. Tonight’s road game against the struggling Tarleton State Texans is our last chance to get a non-conference road win, and we aim to take it for all its worth. We led from the opening tip, and in a faster-paced start for both sides, we held a 17-13 lead with 14:31 to play in the half. This time it was Ellis’ chance to come out and score like a maniac, and the rest of the team stepped up to keep it going. Up 25-17 with 11:58 to play, Tarleton was left choking on the fumes from there as we coasted to lead 58-32 at the half (at which point Ellis already had 33 points 10 rebounds). From there it was a matter of what the margin would be. We went on to win with ease, 97-68.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (44 pts 15 reb 4 ast)
Honorable Mention: Mike Brown (20 pts 3 ast 1 stl)

December 26, 2021
Dixie State (4-8) @ Merrimack (7-3)

Bill Ellis just won his SECOND National Player of the Week award for his performance in last week’s game (to go with his massive performances in early November). Mike Brown meanwhile has a near lock on Freshman of the Year in the NEC at this point, having won two Freshman of the Week awards in a row to go with HIS massive performances in early November. What a pair of fun players we have on this team making offense happen even as we crack down on teams with our full-court defense!

Dixie State came out and tried to beat us at our own game. After some back and forth early, both defenses tightened and we held a 15-14 lead on them with 11:48 to play. But our offense held its own, and despite their best efforts they couldn’t quite slow us. With 4:50 to go we led 31-25, and by halftime the margin was 14, us leading 45-31. Ellis caught fire in the second half, easily getting his double-double as he pushed us toward another blowout win. We led 67-52 with 10:17 to play, and we won this one decisively in the end 97-74.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (43 pts 12 reb 4 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Joel Mattox (12 pts 6 reb) Mike Brown (10 pts 1 reb)
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Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:53 am

January 2, 2022
Merrimack (8-3, 0-0) @ Central Connecticut (5-6, 0-0)

18 games. That is what stands between our solid start and the chance to make it to our first postseason tournament. And playing in the Northeast, without a team in our conference with the prestige of Gonzaga, we’re looking at every game being a must-win. We’ve seen it before, that a Northeast team finishes with 24, 25, even 26 wins and gets the 15-seed. Or they win all those games, then lose in the conference tourney title game and get nothing.

So it’s back to square one. And befitting this season so far, we’re starting the conference slate on the road against the Blue Devils. No, not THOSE Blue Devils. But Central Connecticut is always a tough team, and we want to hit them hard from the start. The Blue Devils got out to a 2-5 lead in the early moments, but we fought hard to make this a brutal atmosphere, and with 14:46 to play in the first half we led 10-7! The next two minutes saw us blitz them 9-5, putting us ahead convincingly 19-12, and we were rolling. The game didn’t end there – both teams shot well on offense, but we HELD OUR GROUND. With 6:13 to play we led 30-26, but they fought back to knot it 32-32 with just 4:12 remaining. We outscored them 8-3 over the next ninety seconds and put ourselves back in the command seat. A 45-42 halftime lead put us right where we needed to be.

The second half was an absolute f---ing slug-fest, and with 11:08 to play we were again knotted 57-57, before Bill Ellis put us up by two with a pair of well-earned free-throws. But at that point the Blue Devils broke free, and with 7:20 to play we trailed 64-73, just caught completely off guard … did we have what it would take to fight back in a hostile situation? No, we would not. The remainder of the game was ugly, and we stumbled badly into a 79-90 defeat. Certainly not the way we’d hoped to open the conference season. But we’ll get a shot at ‘em on our court down the road.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (28 pts 11 reb 2 ast 4 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Crosby (12 pts 2 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

January 5, 2022
Saint Francis (PA) (6-6, 1-0) @ Merrimack (8-4, 0-1)

We got out to a quick start in this one, leading 17-11 against St. Francis with 14:56 remaining in the first half. And over the next three minutes we ratcheted up the defensive pressure to the max while hitting nearly every shot we attempted, outscoring them 11-2 en route to a 28-13 advantage with 11:44 left on the clock! The remainder of the half was a bloodbath, us ahead 56-40 at the break. Midway through the second half we gave our bench guys time on the court and even then we still dominated in what became an 86-75 victory that was never really as close as even the 11-point margin would indicate.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (41 pts 12 reb 3 stl 3 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Crosby (14 pts 2 reb 2 ast 3 stl) Sam Keating (11 pts 1 reb 1 stl 1 blk)

Mike Brown continues to get solid minutes as a starter, and is averaging nearly 16 points a game, but he’s not really sparking the offense from the point guard position. His performance in the first two conference games has been less than what I had hoped for, and I am struggling to find ways to reach out to this kid to show we truly appreciate what he can do for our team. I hate to say it, but I’m getting nervous that he may choose to transfer after this season.

January 9, 2022
Merrimack (9-4, 1-1) @ Mount St. Mary’s (5-8, 1-1)

We scored the first dozen points of the game, as we built a 12-3 lead on the Mount, at the Mount, putting them on notice that we were not to be trifled with. And even as our shooters cooled, our defense never gave up the fight as we maintained our ground to lead 23-14 with just 5:57 to play in the half. They kept it close for a few moments after, but the Mountaineers stumbled and we went into the half ahead 36-21, a very comfortable margin. And we outscored them 9-0 in the first 4:26 of the second half, essentially shutting the door on their comeback hopes, up 45-21 with 15:34 to play. In one of our best defensive stands of the season we absolutely decimated them on our way to a 71-53 road victory!

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (35 pts 17 reb 5 ast 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Sam Keating (10 pts 8 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk) Mike Brown (11 pts 3 ast 2 stl)

January 12, 2022
Long Island (10-4, 2-1) @ Merrimack (10-4, 2-1)

We led from the start, but these Sharks refused to stop swimming – though we led 21-14 with 11:53 to go, they seemed to find ways to stay in the game even at the moments we thought we could knock them back for good. They briefly pulled within three midway through the half before we put up four points to make it a 35-28 lead with 6:22 to go. We got the lead up to 10 for the first time with 1:31 remaining, ahead 49-39, but at the half we led 56-43 and were concerned that any letdown on offense could spell a difficult second half against these sharks with real teeth.

We needn’t have worried, however. With 13:04 to go we’d extended our lead to 21, up 72-51, and the Sharks’ momentum seemed broken for good. Up 91-65 with 6:59 to go, our deep reserves came in to handle the remainder of what became a staggeringly solid 107-80 victory!

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (42 pts 10 reb 3 ast 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Crosby (12 pts 2 reb 5 ast 1 stl) Mike Brown (12 pts 1 ast 1 stl)

January 16, 2022
Bryant (4-11, 0-4) @ Merrimack (11-4, 3-1)

Bryant’s Bulldogs had bite early, fighting us to a 5-5 tie three minutes in, but we broke them with a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to assert our dominance. By halftime we led with ease, 37-19, and they were never in contention from there. We won this one without much further fuss, 69-51.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (24 pts 8 reb)
Honorable Mentions: Sam Keating (11 pts 5 reb 2 ast 3 blk) Joel Mattox (10 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 blk)

January 19, 2022
Merrimack (12-4, 4-1) @ Wagner (2-14, 1-4)

Wagner kept it within a point or two for about seven minutes or so before we broke wide and built a 21-11 lead with 9:05 to play in the first half. We led 35-21 at the break but they were intent on keeping things interesting, outscoring us 12-7 in the first six minutes of the second half to pull back within single digits. They twice pulled within as few as five points before we hit the gas and rebuilt our lead to 55-39 with just 7:19 remaining. From there we closed the door soundly, winning 75-51.

Player of the Game: Bill Ellis (31 pts 11 reb 1 stl 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (13 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 blk) B.J. Perine (13 pts 9 reb 1 ast 1 blk)

A third of the way through the conference season we’re 5-1, tied for second in the conference with Fairleigh Dickenson (7-10, 5-1). Central Connecticut leads the way in first, with a perfect 6-0 conference record and 11-6 overall. No one else in the conference is even at .500 against Northeast foes, and only Long Island, in 4th, has a winning overall record at 11-6 (3-3). At 19th overall in the NET rankings, we are the only conference team in the top 150, so clearly if we want to make a postseason appearance we’re going to have to win this conference outright and win the conference tourney.
Last edited by jksander on Thu Dec 30, 2021 1:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
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