Lord, Reid lead Merrimack to 8th straight, tops LIU 70-59

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) — Jaleel Lord scored 18 points, Ziggy Reid added 13 more off the bench and the surprising Merrimack Warriors held the Northeast Conference’s top offense to a season-low output, throttling Long Island University 70-59 on Saturday.

Merrimack (15-8, 9-1), picked to finish last in a preseason NEC poll, has won eight in a row in its first season of Division I basketball and sits atop the conference. Idris Joyner added 12 points. Jordan Minor added seven points with nine rebounds and four blocks. Second leading scorer Juvaris Hayes (10.1 ppg) was held to six points on 1-for-7 shooting but dished 11 assists.

Raiquan Clark led the Sharks (10-12, 5-4) with 22 points, sinking 10-of-14 free throws, and Tyrn Flowers added 14 points with 13 rebounds — his 11th double-double of the season.

The Warriors, whose Twitter hashtag is #MakeChaos, scored 24 points off 19 LIU turnovers, making nine steals and blocking eight shots.

Merrimack matches up against Fairleigh Dickinson on the road on Thursday. Long Island-Brooklyn plays Mount St. Mary’s at home on Thursday.