NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – #2 FDU (19-15, 10-6) was edged by #1 Merrimack (18-16, 12-4 NEC) 67-66 in the Northeast Conference Championship Final Wednesday evening.
 
The thrilling championship game featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes and saw Merrimack finish the game on an 8-0 run.
 
The top-seeded Warriors opened the game with seven of the first nine tallies. FDU went on a 6-0 run, with sophomore forward Cameron Tweedy tallying four during the spurt. Merrimack stopped the run with a layup from senior forward Jordan Minor and grabbed a 9-8 advantage entering the first media timeout.
 
Baskets came at a premium in the first half, with the two sides shooting below 35% in the 20 minutes. The Burgundy and Blue held Merrimack scoreless over a 3:11 stretch midway through the frame, inching in front 15-13.
 
Junior forward Sean Moore hit the first three-pointer of the day for the Knights with 6:09 remaining in the opening stanza. Sophomore forward Ansley Almonor connected from the deep on the ensuing layup, and Moore extended the lead to five on a triple with 3:33 left.
 
The Warriors trimmed the deficit to two entering halftime, limiting FDU to one point over the final 2:42. Moore paced the Knights with nine points as Tweedy added six on 3-of-3 shooting. Minor, the NEC Co-Player and Defensive Player of the Year, and senior guard/forward Ziggy Reid combined for 21 of the Warriors' 26 first-half markers.
 
The Warriors opened the second half with five of the first seven markers to take a slim 31-30 lead. Merrimack used a 6-0 rally to sneak ahead 37-35, but Tweedy's first basket of the second period tied the contest at 37. Merrimack heated up midway through the half, shooting a blistering 7-of-8 from the floor, taking a 45-41 lead into the under-12 media timeout.
 
Graduate student guard Demetre Roberts pushed the Knights in front 48-47 with a pull-up jumper in the paint as the game progressed through the mid-point of the second half. The Mount Vernon, N.Y. native Roberts drained a three-pointer with 8:14 to go, absorbing contact as he was fouled on the attempt to give FDU a 51-50 edge.
 
The nip and tuck second stanza continued, with junior guard Joe Munden Jr. knocking down a pair of free throws to re-establish the three-point margin. Graduate student guard Grant Singleton, who was stifled for most of the evening, converted three free throws late in the game to stretch the gap to four.
 
Singleton hit one of the biggest shots of the night for FDU, hitting a deep three-pointer with 2:59 left to give the visitors their largest lead of the night at seven. The Warriors answered back, with Reid hitting just the third three-pointer of the night to bring the deficit back to four. Merrimack held FDU scoreless for the final 2:59, with Jordan McKoy's only point of the game coming on the game-clinching free throw.
 
Tweedy established new career highs with 13 points and nine rebounds, with freshman guard Brayden Reynolds corralling a career-best six boards. After scoring no points in the first, Roberts heated up and poured in 15 during the second half. The Knights' reserve unit outscored the Warriors 18-3.

Almonor and Roberts were named to the NEC All-Tournament Team following the contest, joined by the Warriors' Jordan Minor, Javon Bennett and Ziggy Reid, the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
 
Having already clinched the NEC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament, FDU awaits their matchup on Selection Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12, on CBS.