NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Merrimack built an early lead and never looked back on Tuesday, as it took a 75-60 decision from the Hartford men's basketball team on Hammel Court in non-conference action. Graduate student Hunter Marks netted 14 points to pace the Hawks in the losing effort, while sophomore Briggs McClain and senior David Shriver registered career highs with 12 points apiece.
 
Jordan Minor and Mykel Derring accounted for more than half of the Warriors' scoring on the evening, netting 25 points apiece to lead all scorers. Merrimack moves to 4-3 with the win, while Hartford, which was playing without starting guard Dejuan Clayton and starting forward Jared Kimbrough, falls to 0-5.
 
MERRIMACK 75, HARTFORD 60
Scoring 18 of the Warriors' 37 first-half points, Minor, who shot 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in that stretch, helped put Merrimack up by as many as 15 (35-20) with 3:23 left in the half. The Hawks trailed by just three (18-15) midway through the stanza, but the Warriors used a 17-5 run fueled by 10 points from Minor to break away and push ahead by double figures.
 
The Hawks managed to chip away at their deficit before the break. Using a 6-0 spurt fueled by back-to-back buckets from McClain, Hartford cut Merrimack's lead to 35-26 with less than a minute left, but a pair of free throws by Derring sent the Warriors into the break with a 37-26 advantage. 
 
The Hawks shot a season-best 47.8 percent in the first half, but spotted the Warriors 11 points on six first-half turnovers. McClain netted eight of his points during that stretch to already surpass his previous career high of six.
 
Merrimack scored first out of the break, but Shriver and senior D.J. Mitchell fueled an 8-0 run with a pair of three-pointers to pull Hartford back within five at 39-34 with 17:45 left. The Hawks wouldn't come any closer, though, as the Warriors responded with an 11-3 run to push the lead to 50-37 with under 13 minutes remaining.
 
Hartford, which was in the bonus early, was unable to muster a comeback bid despite hitting three three-pointers over the final 6:24. Down the stretch, Derring, who finished with seven triples on the night, used his final two makes from long range to help Merrimack seal the win with a game-ending 10-2 run. 
 
 
INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Senior Austin Williams rounded out Hartford's double-figure scorings with 10 points
• Shriver had a hot hand from behind the arc, going 4-for-6
• The Warriors had more makes from the free-throw line (14-of-19) than the Hawks had attempts (8-of-13)
• Derring and Minor combined to shoot 16-of-21 from the field for the Warriors, who shot the ball at a 50.0 percent clip (26-of-52)
• Minor grabbed 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double
• Merrimack improves to 2-0 in the all-time series, having defeated the Hawks in 2019 in the teams' inaugural meeting

 
NEXT ON TAP
Hartford continues its longest road stretch of the season when it heads to Appalachian State. It marks the Hawks' third game in the Tar Heel State this season, as they faced Campbell and Army earlier this month as part of the Duke Veterans Day Weekend Showcase, in Durham. Tipoff from the Holmes Convention Center in Boone, N.C., is set for 6:30 p.m. For an inside look at Hartford men's basketball, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media: Twitter | Instagram