Mercy Falls to West Florida 83-64 in Christmas Classic
The Mercy College men's basketball team (0-8) was able to
escape the snow for a trip to the McDonald Fleming Moorhead
University of West Florida Christmas Classic in Pensacola, and fell
to the hosts in the opener by a score of 83-64.
UWF (6-6) will face Wilmington (Del.) on New Year's Eve at
7 p.m., directly following Mercy's tilt with Valdosta (Ga.)
State, which tips at five o'clock. Valdosta beat Wilmington
74-63 in the opener today.
The Argos never trailed in the game, scoring the game's
first four points, all on free throws. Next, senior Manny Garcia (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal
Spellman) took a pass from classmate Ed
Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./Msgr. Scanlan) and tickled the
twines from beyond the arc, cutting the lead to 4-3. Two more UWF
free throws were followed by a Hasan Powell (Bridgeport, Conn./Iowa Central
CC) layup, and again the lead was down to one.
However, a UWF 14-2 run would extend the lead to 20-7 with
11:41 to play. The Mavericks would fight back, cutting the lead to
26-20 when Garcia hit a three-pointer with 7:25 left before the
break. Both teams traded baskets, and the Mavericks trailed 39-29
at intermission.
In the second half, the lead swelled to 14 early, as the Argos
scored six of the first eight points. But an 11-3 run for Mercy
brought the score to 48-42, as Powell scored six points in that
streak. Mercy would get no closer, and the Argos led by as many as
21 en route to the win.
On the evening, UWF shot better than 54% and out-rebounded Mercy
58-29. Leading Mercy was Powell, who has 12 of his 16 points in the
second half. Sophomore Jerrell Lawrence (Baldwin, N.Y./New Mexico Military
Institute) had nine of his 11 points in the first
half. UWF had two players post double-doubles, with five players
scoring in double digits.
