Marist Red Foxes 56 at Merrimack Warriors 81 (NCAA Basketball, MAAC) - February 12, 2026

The most important slogan for stadium chasers is "It never ends", because it really doesn't. In the two main quests I have completed, Club 124 and MiLB 160, new venues are always being built, so there are always trips to be planned, usually to cities I have been before. The other quest that I am halfheartedly pursuing is college basketball, and with nearly 400 gyms to chase, I shouldn't have to bother with revisiting a campus if a new venue appears there. But if there is an easy trip, then why not? Such is the case at Merrimack College, who primarily used Hammel Court when they made the jump to Division I in 2019-20. I visited in 2022 and promptly forgot about them, but over the years, they played more and more games at Lawler Arena, completely abandoning Hammel this season. I wasn't even aware of the switch, but my basketball buddy Eddie told me about it and said he was planning to go, so I joined him for a Thursday night contest. He picked me up in Queens and we made the drive to North Andover, Massachusetts.

Having erred during my previous visit, I knew to enter off Elm Street and we drove through campus, parking near the Merrimack Athletics Complex, where both Lawler and Hammel are located. Inside the main entrance is large lobby with a concession stand selling pizza slices for $10 and beer for $14, both of which I have trouble believing. Fortunately, it was Dollar Dog night, so I had one of those instead.

The box office is also here and all reserved seats are $20, with a hard ticket given (courtside seats are $50). Inside the arena, sections 1-7 are on one side, with 8-13 on the other as you can see below. The band is near Sections 12 and 13, so avoid those unless you enjoy tubas blaring in your ears. Above sections 2-3 is the Champions Club, an open area that has some tables and more space than if you are in your seat. We stood there for the game without a problem. 

Lawler is a hockey rink first and foremost, so the lowest couple of rows are not that great for basketball. However, this is still a better venue than Hammel Court, which was really just a D-II gym. I usually don't like multi-purpose venues as the hockey layout is not ideal for hoops, but it works well enough here.

There are a couple of courtside benches too; the red-clad group below were Marist fans sitting there waving to their coach. The arena opened in 1972 and can seat 3,000 for basketball. I'm not sure if that includes the area behind the basket as those seats are really far away, and also behind the student section that is right on the baseline. They stand as close as possible and at one point, the referee had to ask them to step back as they were encroaching on the blue paint. At some point, a player chasing a loose ball will run through them and the highlight will be on ESPN.

Another sign that this is an arena is the scoreboard that is clearly designed for hockey, with shots on goal and penalties instead of fouls.

There is another unique point here, namely the logo at center court. Most schools use an athletics logo, but there they use the college's shield instead. The Latin phrase is Tolle Lege which means 'Take Up and Read'. According to Google, 'Travel for Sports' is 'Itinerantur in Ludis' in Latin. Good to know.

You can walk around the outside of the boards from one side to the other, and as you can see below, there is no point in standing at the other end either.

The ceiling is rather low here, which contributes to the loud environment. In their six seasons in Division I, Merrimack has evolved their gameday experience and it can get quite noisy. The team is in first place in the MAAC and have a chance at their first trip to March Madness, so fans are showing up, with attendance 1,678 on this night, over a thousand more than the 606 when I saw them at Hammel.

One thing that surprised me is the size of the dance team, which numbers 28 ladies, nearly double the 15 cheerleaders on hand. Again, things have changed considerably since the jump to Division I and this is much more complete gameday presentation than four years ago. Also note the inflatables that are used when the visiting team takes free throws during both halves.

The view from our spot in the Champions Club is below. Definitely better than sitting in the first row.

Overall, Lawler Arena is a big step up from Hammel Court and I expect the team to use it full-time going forward. Merrimack is just over half an hour from Boston and well worth the trip to see the Warriors, an up-and-coming mid-major squad.

The Game

The Marist Red Foxes (16-8, 10-5 in MAACtion) were visiting Merrimack (16-9, 12-2), who were only 2.5-point favourites despite winning 68-55 in Poughkeepsie on MLK Day.

Early on, it looked like Vegas might have known something as Marist went on a 10-0 run over 3+ minutes, capped by a Rhyjon Blackwell trey that made it 20-10. They then went cold, making just one shot from the field while missing six and turning the ball over six times as the Warriors clawed back with a 17-5 burst to take a 30-27 lead. After another Blackwell three tied it, Merrimack scored the final five points of the half with Tye Dorsett swishing a bomb just before the buzzer.

Any hope of a Marist comeback was quickly snuffed out when the Warriors started the second period with a 9-2 run before the first media timeout. Shortly thereafter, a 15-5 spurt gave Merrimack a 61-41 lead, with star freshman Kevair Kennedy (#5 below) contributing 8 points and 2 assists early in the half.



The lead got as high as 22 before coach Jon Gallo subbed in the bench for two-and-a-half minutes of garbage time, which Merrimack won 5-2 to complete the 25-point beatdown. Shooting was the difference as Merrimack hit 55% of their shots to just 36% for Marist. Interestingly, the Red Foxes dominated the offensive glass, with 13 boards off their own misses leading to 18 second chance points while the Warriors had only 4 for 2. Conversely, Merrimack's 9 turnovers resulted in just 6 points, while 13 Marist miscues saw 21 points at the other end.

Kennedy, who leads the MAAC in conference scoring, led the home team with 22 and 7 assists, while center Jason Schofield had 13 in the loss, with nary a three-point attempt.

Notes

The Warriors were in the NEC for their first five years in D-I and did not make the tournament in their only year of eligibility, when they were the #2 seed and hosted #6 Wagner at Lawler in the final, only to be upset. Last year, they were again a 2 seed and lost in the MAAC semifinal to #6 sixth Mount St. Mary's, who won the tournament. It takes place in Atlantic City and I hope to attend one day of this year's competition in early March.

Once again, I have completed all the college basketball venues in New England, but once again, a new one will be added to the list when Northeastern replaces Matthews Arena, which will be 'surgically' demolished. Terrible decision as Matthews was the oldest college basketball gym in the country, but money talks nowadays, even in low-level college hoops.

Next Up

It's winter break time, so back to Europe we go. I'll be attending a couple of games in Ireland and Northern Ireland, but the specifics are still to be decided. Check back in a couple of weeks to see where I ended up.

Best,

Sean