Siena hosts Merrimack following Kennedy’s 20-point game

By Canadian Press on January 8, 2026.

Merrimack Warriors (9-7, 5-0 MAAC) at Siena Saints (10-5, 3-1 MAAC)

Albany, New York; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Merrimack takes on Siena after Kevair Kennedy scored 20 points in Merrimack’s 73-66 victory against the Manhattan Jaspers.

The Saints are 4-1 in home games. Siena is 4-4 against opponents with a winning record.

The Warriors are 5-0 in MAAC play. Merrimack has a 2-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Siena is shooting 44.7% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 44.2% Merrimack allows to opponents. Merrimack’s 39.8% shooting percentage from the field this season is 4.8 percentage points lower than Siena has allowed to its opponents (44.6%).

The Saints and Warriors face off Friday for the first time in MAAC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Justice Shoats is averaging 11.9 points, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals for the Saints. Gavin Doty is averaging 15.9 points over the last 10 games.

Ernest Shelton is shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc with 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Warriors, while averaging 15.4 points. Kennedy is averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Saints: 7-3, averaging 69.8 points, 31.0 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.7 points per game.

Warriors: 7-3, averaging 67.7 points, 23.2 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 8.1 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press