NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — The LIU men's basketball team traveled to Merrimack for the first round of the NEC Tournament on Wednesday night.

The first half was an absolute battle. Whenever one team tried to gain a big lead, the other would come right back. LIU would lead by as much as nine while Merrimack would lead by as much as six. The Warriors went on a bit of a run at the half and took a 43-39 lead into the locker room.

The second half was slowed down with not as much scoring as the first. Merrimack switched to a full court zone and the Sharks were unable to get into the same offensive groove. Merrimack was up 11 with just under four minutes to play but LIU kept on fighting.  Clutch defense by Andre Washington and a bucket by Tai Strickland along with some free throws would get the game within three with a minute to play. A controversial call by the officials would swing possession in Merrimack's favor and from there it was a free throw contest as LIU fell 72-66.

In their final games, Andre Washington and Tai Strickland each scored a team-high 18 points.

R.J. Greene grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds.

Tana Kopa scored 11 with three rebounds.