Pope Pours In Career-High 35 Points in Contest Versus Pace
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 12, 2012) - On Wednesday evening, Mercy College senior forward Joseph Pope (Akron, Ohio) put on a very impressive showing for the Mavericks' fans at the Mercy Gymnasium in a non-conference contest hosting Pace University. Pope notched a career-high 35 points to up his season's point-per-game average to 20.1. Despite Mercy's best efforts and a thrilling second half, the Setters defeated the Mavericks, 94-86.
With the win, the Setters improved to 6-3 overall. Following the loss, the Mavericks slipped to 0-8 on the season.
Mercy's first half recipe all season long was followed ingredient-by-ingredient against the Setters. No team had a lead larger than five and there were quite a few scoring ties. The Mavericks fired on all cylinders, shooting an outstanding 68.2% from field goal range in the opening stanza. Going into halftime, the Setters led, 44-41.
The second half started out negatively for the Maverics as with 15:52 left, the Setters had mounted a 59-44 advantage. Mercy's determination, however, was not broken and the Mavericks would continue to fight to cut down that deficit.
The hosts would spin off several runs, including an 8-0 run after that 59-44 deficit, to cut it to 59-52. Then, down 11 with 10:39 remaining, Mercy reeled off a 5-0 burst to chop their deficit down to 66-60. Pope scored all five points, capping the run off with one of the Akron native's signature monster dunks.
Behind by 10 points with 2:07 to go, the Mavericks popped off a 6-0 run, which was started when Pope connected with freshman guard Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I.) on an alley-oop. Mercy trailed, 90-86.
However, the Setters converted on their free throws and locked down the 94-86 victory.
For the Mavericks, Pope finished with a career-high and game-high 35 points, while also adding four rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior forward Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y.) continues to impress, scoring 13 and bringing down six boards. Graduate student Khiry Gordon (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted an all-around solid game with 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Mercy finished the game shooting 54.7% from the floor.
For the Setters, Keon Williams scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds for the double-double, while Salvatore Vitello added 18 off the bench. Jonathan Merceus had 16. Kai Smith and Denzel Primus-Devonish had strong games as well contributing 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to battle Chestnut Hill College. The opening tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.
