NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player and Rookie of the Year contender Kevair Kennedy scored a career-high 32 points to lead Merrimack past Siena Basketball 79-72 in overtime in a nationally televised primetime thriller in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,919 at Lawler Arena.
 
Kennedy shot just 8-21 from the field but was awarded 16 free throws and made all of them for Merrimack (19-9, 15-2), which shot a perfect 26-26 from the charity stripe. Ernest Shelton added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors who, despite being predicted to finish seventh according to the preseason poll, clinched at least a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship in just their second season in the conference.
 
Gavin Doty scored 22 points to lead Siena (18-10, 11-6) which fell back into a tie for third place in the MAAC Standings with idle Quinnipiac. The Saints remained a game back of second-place Saint Peter's – whom they host Sunday – and are now just a half-game clear of fifth-place Marist with three games remaining.
 
A nationally televised primetime showdown featuring the teams holding down first and third place in the standings, respectively – and pitting the squad with the league's best home record against the team with the most road wins – lived up to the billing.
 
Siena effectively probed the vaunted Merrimack zone in the first half and utilized a 10-2 run to claim as much as an eight-point lead at 22-14 at the 11:38 mark. The Saints shot 52% in the opening stanza to claim a 37-32 lead at the break.
 
Siena pushed the lead back to seven early in the second half, but the Warriors produced a 15-3 run over 4:34 to secure a seven-point lead of their own at 57-50 with 9:29 remaining.
 
But despite starting point guard Justice Shoats playing just 10:55 and fouling out at the 10:10 mark, the Saints didn't back down.
 
Freshman Isaiah Henderson capped a late 9-2 spurt with a clutch corner three to put Siena back ahead 64-62 with 1:33 to go. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, and Kennedy, who entered play ranked third nationally in made free throws, sunk the tying pair with 26 seconds left. The Saints had a final chance in regulation, but a three at the buzzer was off the mark to send Siena to its first overtime game of the season.
 
Merrimack never trailed in overtime and Todd Brogna hit a clutch three with 38.9 seconds left to push the Warriors lead to five and all but seal it. Merrimack shot 11-25 (44%) from three compared to just 5-20 (25%) for the Saints which lost for the first time this season when leading at halftime (14-1).
 
Tye Dorset scored 13 points for the Warriors which have won seven straight overall and improved to a perfect 10-0 at Lawler Arena.
 
Antonio Chandler tallied a double-double with 18 points on 7-9 shooting and 12 rebounds, and Francis Folefac contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists for Siena which concluded a grueling stretch featuring five of seven on the road, the final three of which came against the top-five teams.
 
After battling the first-place team for 45 minutes, the Saints have a quick turnaround before continuing the gauntlet against the second-place squad less than 40 hours later. Siena hosts Saint Peter's in the annual Gold Rush game in the penultimate home contest Sunday at 2 p.m. at MVP Arena.
 
This postgame recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through – on the court and for your home.