College of Marin was held down in the Bay Valley Conference opener at Merritt College on Saturday. The Mariners were unable to match the physicality of the Thunderbirds in an 85-58 loss. The home team was on fire from distance while Marin was limited in their long-range shooting, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Merritt started off hot, which got the home crowd involved. Marin fell behind by double digits early but kept the game within reach in the first half. They trailed 44-31 at halftime.
After the break, Merritt began to pick up steam, while the Mariners unfortunately were stuck in neutral. Merritt nailed triple after triple, while Marin was ice cold from distance. In total Merritt shot 12-19 from three-point range while Marin made just 1-16 shots from similar distance. The 33-point disparity in three-point shooting nearly mimicked the final score as Marin fell 85-58 to the Merritt Thunderbirds.
Garrick Sherrod led the Mariners with 23 points on 8-16 shooting, including a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Kevin Kahriman recorded his third double double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds on the evening. As a team, the Mariners shot 19-22 from the charity stripe.
Isiah Davis led Merritt College with 19 points, Obie Richard chipped in 12 points while Deon Steward and Jahn Chanesse each had 11 points.
Next up for the Mariners is the Bay Valley Conference home opener against Mendocino College at 5:30 on Saturday, December 30th.