ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Gavin Doty scored 23 points and Brendan Coyle and Riley Mulvey posted double-doubles and Siena clinched an NCAA Tournament berth by beating Merrimack 64-54 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Championship game on Tuesday night.
It’s the Saints’ (23-11) first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010.
Doty scored 18 points after halftime, Mulvey scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Coyle scored 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds. Francis Folefac added 10 points on a night both teams struggled to shoot.
Third-seeded Siena shot 38% (21 of 55) compared to 29% (17 of 58) for MAAC top-seed Merrimack (23-11).
Folefac and Mulvey each played 40 minutes with Coyle, Doty and Justice Shoats playing 38 minutes. Christian Jones was the only reserve Siena head coach Jerry McNamara used off the bench.
Ernest Shelton scored 17 points, Kevair Kennedy scored 15 points and Todd Brogna 12 for the Warriors.
Siena built a 24-9 lead in the first 10 1/2 minutes before the Warriors responded to outscore Siena 21-9 over the back end of the first half and drew within 33-30 at intermission.
The Saints emerged from the break with a 12-0 run to extend the lead to 45-30. Merrimack regrouped and got back in it outscoring Siena 17-6.
But after Merrimack’s Kennedy made two foul shots to get within 51-47, Doty scored Siena’s next six points and the Saints created safe space from there.
Twenty years ago today, McNamara — as a player — helped lead Syracuse to a win over Georgetown in a Big East Conference semifinal contest.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
