Men's Basketball Stumbles Against Chestnut Hill College
Box Score BOXSCORE - Mercy vs. Chestnut Hill
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2011) – On Wednesday evening, student-athletes, fans and faculty members packed the Mercy Gymnasium and created a deafening atmosphere for the Mercy College men's basketball team's non-conference tilt with Chestnut Hill College. The Mavericks stuck with the Griffins and battled them hard during the first half, but Chestnut Hill built up a strong lead that Mercy wasn't able to come back from in the latter stanza. Chestnut Hill won, 86-64.
With 5:33 left in the opening half, Mercy junior guard Colin Senior (Hackensack, N.J.) couldn't get the friendly roll on a lay-up, but junior forward Joseph Pope (Akron, Ohio) came to his defense. The 6-foor-4 forward glided up to the basket just as Senior's shot had rolled out, found the ball with two hands, and slammed it in for the dunk, much to the crowd's delight. The Mavericks (0-5) trailed by just two points (26-24) as the first act was winding down.
The Griffins (6-2) scored 18 of the game's next 28 points to take a 44-34 lead going into the intermission.
In the second half, Chestnut Hill shot 55.2% from field goal range, and 60.0% (3-for-5) from behind the arc, to command the tempo for the rest of the contest. Mercy had difficulty from the charity stripe in the second stanza as the Mavericks converted on six of their 16 attempts.
For the Mavericks, Pope led the team with 12 points, while sophomore guard Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y.) had 10. Sophomore forward Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y.) added eight points and brought down eight rebounds, which was a team-high.
For the Griffins, junior guard Mark DiRugeris Jr. (Woodbury, N.J.) scored a game-high 23 points, while senior guard Brandon Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior forward/center Dan Comas (Philadelphia, Pa.) contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively. Comas racked up 10 boards for the double-double.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks return to the hardwood on Saturday when they play nearby rival Nyack College in Nyack, N.Y. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
