NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The College of Saint Rose shot an efficient 50.9 percent (27-for-53) from the floor, but host Merrimack generated 18 more shots that it converted at a 42.3 percent (30-for-71) clip to hand the Golden Knights an 83-72 Northeast-10 Conference loss at the Volpe Center tonight. Merrimack forced Saint Rose into 18 turnovers that yielded 22 points, and conversely coughed the ball up only three times throughout the entire ballgame.

The Warriors (12-3/10-2 NE-10) furthermore extended their current win streak to a league best 11 games, just two shy of the school record 13 that their 1977-78 ballclub reeled off. On the other hand, the Golden Knights fell for the third straight time after winning their previous three contests.

Senior guard Jermaine Clark and sophomore forward Brian Hanuschak nevertheless both turned in outstanding performances for the Golden Knights. Clark fell one shy of his career-best with a season-high 30 points to become only the 12th player in school annals to record 1,300 (1,307) points. Hanuschak recorded his sixth “double-double” of the year, and third in the last four games, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Shea Bromirski added nine points and sophomore forward Sheldon Griffin had eight.

Merrimack put itself in control with a 24-12 run that bridged the final five minutes of the first half with the opening five minutes of the second period. The Warriors closed the opening session with an 11-5 burst that turned an eight point, 37-29, lead with 4:38 remaining into a 48-34 cushion at the break. They then built on that momentum with a 13-7 spurt at the onset of the second half that left them up 20, 61-41, with 15:37 left in the ballgame.

Saint Rose eventually cut its deficit to 12, 67-55, at the 10:39 mark following a 3-pointer from Clark, but the Golden Knights were never able to get to within single digits the rest of the way.

Senior guard Darren Duncan led four Merrimack players in double-figures scoring with 26 points and 10 assists. Sophomore forward Aaron Strothers finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks; while sophomore guards Roland Davis and Wayne Mack tossed in 15 and 13 points respectively.

Up next, both teams have 3:30 pm league games on tap for Saturday. The Golden Knights will host UMass Lowell, while the Warriors are scheduled to visit Pace University.

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