NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) Gavin McCusker threw three touchdown passes to Pat Conroy and Merrimack beat Central Connecticut 20-14 on Saturday for its seventh straight win.

Merrimack (8-2, 6-0) will host St. Francis (PA), which is also 6-0 in the Northeast Conference, for the conference title next Saturday.

Nasir Smith ran for a 1-yard touchdown that capped a 17-play, 82-yard opening drive. Smith finished with 148 yards rushing and is the 16th player at Central Connecticut to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. The senior finished with 1,001 yards.

Maurice Nelson returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to give Merrimack the ball on the CCSU 18-yard line. McCusker found Conroy in the end zone six plays later for a 10-yard score. McCusker and Conroy connected twice more in the fourth quarter.

Kyle Zajack scored on a 1-yard run for the Blue Devils with 20 seconds left, but Merrimack recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Central Connecticut (1-9, 1-5) will look to end a two-game skid in its season finale against Stonehill.

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