I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:02 pm

Will have a post ready later tonight. Should also get to play more this weekend :)
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:09 am

January 2, 2023
Long Island (5-6, 0-0) @ Merrimack (8-3, 0-0)

We led 4-2 almost right off the bat, but Long Island was not scared. They rattled off five points in a row and suddenly we were down 4-7 with 16:41 to play. We retook the lead 20-19 on a Rashard Crosby triple at the half’s midpoint, but the game was one of multiple runs from there, back and forth and full of lead changes. With 5:42 to play we were knotted at 31, but we pulled out all the stops down the stretch and went into halftime ahead 44-37. The Sharks played even with us for most of the second half, and though we held our lead it was never close to becoming a blowout. We led 66-55 with 6:39 to play in the game and though they fought back down the stretch and pulled to within a possession or two several times, we were able to win this one 81-78, avoiding a repeat of last season’s opening conference loss.

Player of the Game: Sam Keating (15 pts 3 reb 1 ast 4 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Anthony McDonald (17 pts 2 ast 2 stl) Derrick Jacobs (12 pts 1 ast 1 blk) Rashard Crosby (13 pts 6 reb 1 ast)

January 5, 2023
Merrimack (9-3, 1-0) @ Bryant (3-9, 1-0)

Four minutes into this one we had Bryant’s number, leading the Bulldogs 16-7. And though they shot well, our deeper bench allowed us to maintain a brutally fast pace and they were never able to catch their breath. Up 38-28 with 7:04 to go, we coasted into halftime with a 48-38 lead. Bryant, however, played ridiculously solid defense in the early moments of the second half, and they slowly chipped their way back into this one when our shooters went cold. With 13:29 to play in the game our lead was cut in half, 54-49, and we were in danger of letting a hungry home team steal this one. Thankfully our offense woke up and three different players took part in a 6-0 flurry in the next minute, bringing our lead back to double digits. We led 72-58 with 6:05 to play and we held them back down the stretch to win solidly 79-62 despite the early-half hiccups.

Our bench outscored theirs 28-16, a big reason we were able to break away midway through the second half.

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (21 pts 1 reb 2 ast 3 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Derrick Jacobs (22 pts 3 ast) Paul Morgan (12 pts 5 reb 2 ast 1 blk)

January 9, 2023
St. Francis (NY) (7-6, 2-0) @ Merrimack (10-3, 2-0)

Last year’s front-runners have already taken a hit -- Fairleigh Dickinson is currently 0-2, while Central Connecticut is 1-1. Only Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY) and ourselves remain unblemished in the Northeast Conference fray. And after tonight, there’d be one more removed from perfection. We led the Terriers 14-4 with 12:51 to go in the first half and never really looked back. We had a 20+ point lead late in the half and by the break we were up 47-27. The Terriers scored the second half’s first seven points, but they weren’t able to get it back within single digits, and with 9:59 to play we were back up 63-42 with them deep in our rear-view. We won this one with ease, 76-59.

Sacred Heart remained undefeated in the conference by whipping Long Island 96-81. Fairleigh Dickinson, meanwhile, got their first win of the conference season by offing winless Wagner by seven points. Not a convincing win against a team that is 0-14.

Player of the Game: Derrick Jacobs (19 pts 3 reb 1 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Joel Mattox (12 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk) Rashard Crosby (12 pts 6 reb 2 ast)

January 12, 2023
Merrimack (11-3, 3-0) @ Fairleigh Dickinson (6-8, 1-2)

The Knights came out fighting and we were in a real dogfight early on, with Fairleigh Dickinson leading us 11-16 with 14:44 remaining in the first half. But we mounted a swift comeback and with 12:17 to play we took our first lead of the night, 21-19, thanks to a Mike Brown layup off a Derrick Jacobs assist. The Knights then rallied to take control again, running ahead over the next six minutes to rebuild a 31-35 lead and down the stretch they left us reeling. By halftime we were in a deep hole, down 41-57 and needing a miracle if we were gonna pull this one off on the road.

We came out fired the f--- up in the second half, knowing any shot of putting this game back into focus would rely on our pressure defense and our players scoring when we needed. In the first two minutes of the half we outscored the Knights 9-0 to get this one within seven, but the Knights fought well enough to where we still trailed by seven with 10:14 to go, down 59-66. We needed a momentum shift in our favor, and over the next ninety seconds we managed to outscore them 7-1 to pull within a point. Sam Keating made a 15-footer off a Derrick Jacobs assist to give us the lead 68-67 with 8:36 to play and suddenly we had a chance in this one. The game stayed close from there but we maintained our control, leading 77-74 with just under five minutes to play. We survived a flurry of lead changes down the stretch and pulled out an 89-84 upset victory to remain undefeated in Northeast Conference play!

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (22 pts 1 reb 5 ast 2 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Derrick Jacobs (11 pts 5 ast 2 stl) Sean Keating (9 pts 2 reb 3 ast)

January 16, 2023
Wagner (0-15, 0-4) @ Merrimack (12-3, 4-0)

We and Sacred Heart still remain undefeated in the Northeast Conference, and while they take on 3-1 St. Francis (NY) we get a home game hosting winless Wagner. The Seahawks are in a deep slump, but it’d be insane to take them as a non-threat ... statistically they’ve got to beat someone this season, and our players need to know it could be them as easy as anyone if we come in sloppy and slow. But though our shooting was a bit off early in the half, our defense was right up where we needed it to be. With 9:45 to play in the half we led 19-8, and by halftime we were comfortably ahead 38-21, a balanced performance with four players (all starters) with six or more points apiece. By the midpoint of the second half we’d consistently stayed ahead by 20+, and they never made it much of a competition from there. We won this one in the end 74-57.

Player of the Game: Derrick Jacobs (16 pts 4 reb 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (15 pts 3 ast) Rashard Crosby (12 pts 7 reb 1 ast) Vince Rawlings (11 pts 1 reb)

January 19, 2023
Merrimack (13-3, 5-0) @ Central Connecticut (7-9, 2-3)

Central Connecticut came out fighting and with 11:34 to go we still trailed them 11-13, battling our true conference nemesis on the road as you’d expect. They outscored us 10-2 over the next five minutes, but by halftime we’d battled back to be in a real firefight knotted 31-31 against the Blue Devils. But we came out kicking in the second half, up 45-36 with 15:23 to go in the game. Over the next five minutes we blew it wide open, up 58-38, and this one became a blowout. We won in the end easily, 74-49.

Player of the Game: Derrick Jacobs (12 pts 1 reb 9 ast 4 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (16 pts 1 ast 1 stl), Aaron McDonald (17 pts 1 reb 3 ast)

Sacred Heart got blown out 88-55 by Fairleigh Dickinson, leaving us alone at the top of the conference. Sacred Heart is safe at second at 5-1, with Long Island and St. Francis (NY) at 4-2, tied for third. From there it’s anyone’s game, but at this point the Northeast is our conference to lose.
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: I'm BAAACK! Jonathan Sanders takes over at Merrimack

Postby jksander » Sun Mar 06, 2022 2:36 am

January 23, 2023
Merrimack (14-3, 6-0) @ Mount St. Mary’s (9-8, 3-3)

Mount St. Mary’s did not come out scared. The Mountaineers led us 9-10 with 16:31 to play in the first half, and though they wanted to give off the look ‘dare to take us unseriously,’ a 17-6 stretch for our Warriors put them severely in the rearview, down 26-16 with 10:34 remaining in the first half. They had no need to fear us, only a need to get out of our way en route to a 48-32 halftime lead, with Rashard Crosby (9 pts 7 reb 2 ast) staring down a double double. The Mountaineers scored the first two points of the half but we responded by gutting them, leading by 20 with 13:22 to go, gliding to a 74-62 victory even as we took our foot off the gas.

Player of the Game: Rashard Crosby (15 pts 13 reb 2 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Derrick Jacobs (15 pts 2 reb 2 ast 2 stl) Joel Mattox (5 pts 10 reb 5 ast 3 stl)

January 26, 2023
Sacred Heart (10-8, 6-1) @ Merrimack (15-3, 7-0)

This game looks to be our shot at breaking out to a dominating lead in the Northeast standings, as Sacred Heart (a game back) holds a game lead on 5-2 Long Island and a two game lead on 4-3 St. Francis, with the four teams below standing at 3-4 with barely a glimmer of hope in the conference race. The Pioneers looked to have an advantage in height, but at this point I’ll take Mike Brown, Derrick Jacobs and Rashard Crosby as enforcers to be beat by only the best.

We didn’t open effectively, starting out 6-0, letting them outscore us 7-0 in response, and then spending a four minute stretch outscoring them 7-2 en route to a 13-9 lead with seven minutes expired. But we clamped down over the next four minutes to build a 25-15 lead, daring the Pioneers to fight back. But our defense crushed them down the stretch and we went into the break leading 43-32. We opened the second half strongly, expanding our lead to 57-42 with 12:32 to play, at which point we broke their resolve. Up 66-46 with 10:28 left to play, we neutered them down the stretch to win big 85-61. If there’s anyone who can beat us in this conference we’ve yet to face them.

Player of the Game: Derrick Jacobs (22 pts 1 reb)
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Crosby (11 pts 6 reb 2 stl) Aaron McDonald (14 pts 1 reb 4 ast)

January 30, 2023
Merrimack (16-3, 8-0) @ Saint Francis (PA) (7-12, 4-4)

On January 2, 2022 we lost to Central Connecticut on the road, 79-90. Since then we’ve won 25 consecutive regular season Northeast Conference games (28 if you include our conference tourney dominance) and have firmly asserted our dominance therein. People are already asking if I, the “Merrimack Miracle Maker,” have another Final Four in me before I jump ship to some greener pastures. I, meanwhile, am looking firmly at remaining undefeated in the conference, where on the road no games are ‘given.’

Case in point? Today’s game, in which the Red Flash built a 2-7 lead on us in the first four minutes, leading by as many as 10 points before we clawed our way back. Down 11-17 with 9:32 to play in the first half, we stole the lead on a pair of Vince Rawlings free throws to cap a 7-0 run with just 5:33 remaining! Four lead changes later we went into the half clinging to a 28-24 lead, knowing we needed to play our asses off to remain unbeaten. We opened the second half on an 11-5 run to extend OUR lead to double digits with 15:15 remaining. The Red Flash twice pulled within four and were able to keep things close, but we maintained our lead, up 58-48 with 3:04 remaining in the game. We shut them down from there and won convincingly 68-54.

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (13 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Josh Cabrera (11 pts 7 reb 1 ast) Aaron McDonald (12 pts 1 ast 3 stl)

February 2, 2023
Merrimack (17-3, 9-0) @ Long Island (12-8, 7-2)

The back half of the conference slate begins tonight, and the Sharks too came out strong on their home court, building a 6-14 lead on us with 14:26 to go in the first half. It is easy to say ‘stick to the game plan’ when you’re down by five or six, but with 12:21 to go we trailed the Sharks 9-20 and were for the first time in months looking legitimately scared out there. I did my best to calm our starting core and urged them to get back out there and fight they were playing in front of our dedicated fans at home. And we fought back appropriately, pulling within seven at one point before trailing again 20-30 with just 7:28 remaining in the first half. But they broke us down the stretch before halftime, leading us 35-52 at the break, with no Warriors in double figures scoring. Trailing by 20 early in the half, fighting back to within 11 midway and then collapsing again, we trailed Long Island 60-81 with 6:35 to go, our largest deficit of the night and (to my knowledge) the season to this point. No matter how well our three-pointers fell there was no comeback in the works tonight. We lost this one humiliatingly, 82-93.

Player of the Game: Rashard Crosby (21 pts 8 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Derrick Jacobs (14 pts 5 reb 1 ast) Mike Brown (14 pts 1 reb 3 ast 1 stl 2 blk)

February 6, 2023
Bryant (6-15, 4-6) @ Merrimack (17-4, 9-1)

Smelling blood, the Bulldogs came into this one ready to shred flesh, and after half a dozen lead changes we felt lucky to be ahead 12-11 with 14:25 to play in the first half. Four minutes later we held a 24-17 lead on Bryant, but it still felt like we were in a dogfight. We found our bearings from there, however, and asserted our dominance during a 17-8 stretch which gave us a 16-point lead with 4:06 to play in the first half. We led convincingly 51-31 at the break, quickly expanding that least to 30+ early in the second half. With 5:48 to go we led 82-51 and though our foot was off the gas we still dominated our way to a 90-66 victory.

Player of the Game: Mike Brown (33 pts 3 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Derrick Jacobs (16 pts 3 reb 6 ast) Rashard Crosby (14 pts 6 reb 2 ast) Paul Morgan (9 pts 5 reb 2 ast 1 blk)

February 9, 2023
Merrimack (18-4, 10-1) @ St. Francis (NY) (11-11, 6-5)

Though we remain atop the conference, Long Island is only a game behind which leaves us no room for error particularly on the road. Though the Terriers are only 11-11 so far this year, they’re itching to take a bite out of our asses. They drew first blood but we broke out to quickly lead St. Francis by a 20-11 margin with 9:49 to go in the half. The Terriers fought to keep it close, but at the half we led 38-28 and looked ready to cruise. But the Terriers clawed back, pulling within two points with 10:18 to go, down 53-51, and taking a stunning 53-55 lead on a pair of free throws with 9:02 to go. They completely shut us down from there as we collapsed offensively, losing this one 63-72 having been outscored by 19 in the second half.

Long Island blew out Sacred Heart 104-74 at home, putting us both in a tie in the conference standings. Unbelievable! With six games left to play we need to win out in order to avoid letting the Sharks steal that top seed.

Player of the Game: Joel Mattox (11 pts 6 reb 1 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Mike Brown (9 pts 1 reb 1 stl 2 blk) Paul Morgan (8 pts 6 reb)
User avatar
jksander
Elite Member
 
Posts: 6445
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:21 am
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Previous

Return to DDS: College Basketball Dynasty Reports

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

cron