Gavin Doty scored 23 points, while Brendan Coyle and Riley Mulvey each recorded double-doubles as Siena clinched an NCAA Tournament berth with a 64–54 victory over Merrimack in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game Tuesday night.
The Saints (23–11) are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
“Congratulate Siena,” Merrimack coach Joe Gallo said. “We picked the wrong night to not have our best stuff. But they had a lot to do with that. I don’t want to discredit them and how they played. This is the worst [loss] of the year. … I just really wanted it for these guys. But again, congrats to those guys. All you can ask for is to play meaningful games in March and we had a lot of them. We won all of them except the one that gets you that great prize.”
Doty poured in 18 of his 23 points after halftime. Mulvey finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Coyle added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Francis Folefac chipped in with 10 points on a night when both teams struggled to shoot.
Third-seeded Siena shot 38 percent (21 of 55) from the field, compared with 29 percent (17 of 58) for MAAC top seed Merrimack (23–11).
Folefac and Mulvey each logged 40 minutes, while Coyle, Doty and Justice Shoats played 38 minutes apiece. Christian Jones was the only reserve Siena coach Gerry McNamara used off the bench.
Ernest Shelton led Merrimack with 17 points, while Kevair Kennedy added 15 and Todd Brogna finished with 12.
“It’s been a joy, man,” Kennedy said. “I wanted that championship bad. The school needed it, the coaches needed it. I was supposed to do it for my seniors. I love this team. This is the first team where everyone felt like my brother. I loved everybody on this team.”
Tye Dorset, who played a key role in Merrimack’s semifinal victory Sunday, left the game with a second-half injury and was seen on crutches afterward.
Siena raced out to a 24–9 lead over the opening 10½ minutes before the Warriors responded, outscoring the Saints 21–9 late in the half to pull within 33–30 at the break.
The Saints came out of halftime with a decisive 12–0 run to extend the lead to 45–30. Merrimack battled back, trimming the deficit by outscoring Siena 17–6.
But after Kennedy converted two free throws to pull the Warriors within 51–47, Doty answered with Siena’s next six points, creating breathing room the Saints would not surrender.