Pope Pours In 20 for Men's Basketball in Home-Opening Thriller Versus Caldwell
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2012) - On Wednesday night, the Mercy College men's basketball squad hosted Caldwell College in its 2012-13 home opener. The Cougars narrowly-edged out the Mavericks in the final seconds, 85-80 at the Mercy Gymnasium. With the win, the Cougars improved to 1-2 overall. Following the defeat, the Mavericks slipped to 0-3 on the season.
Five minutes into the game, Caldwell posted a 12-6 lead, and then later on went up 39-25 with 5:27 left. The Mavericks fought back, however, and reeled off an 11-4 run to close out the opening half. Sophomore guard Terrance Murchie (Franklin Square, N.Y.) kicked off the run with a three-pointer and a jumper. A couple of minutes later, graduate forward Khiry Gordon (Philadelphia, Pa.) slammed down a dunk, with senior forward Joseph Pope (Akron, Ohio) taking care of the rest with two lay-ups.
The beginning of the second stanza didn't look promising for the Mavericks as they could not get a stop on the Cougars' offense. As late as four minutes remaining in regulaton, Caldwell held a 79-69 advantage.
That meant nothing for the Mavericks. Over the next three minutes, Mercy posted a 9-2 run. Pope had four points in the run, while Gordon contributed three.
With 31 seconds left, junior guard Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y.) made the already-boisterious crowd erupt when he drove in a lay-up to cut his team's deficit to 83-80.
However, a steal and another bucket would allow the Cougars to secure the 85-80 triumph.
For the Mavericks, Pope netted a team-high 20 points, while Morrish had 14 and Murchie recorded 11 (3-for-6 from three-point land). Gordon blocked four shots, while junior Remi Mignott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 10 points and five assists.
For the Cougars, Michael Balkovic had a game-best 28 points, while Wyatt Polk scored 24. Arthur Morrison added 14. Balkovic and Polk both posted double-doubles with 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks return to action on Saturday when they host nearby Nyack College beginning at 3:00 p.m.
