Smith Pours in Career High 25 Points for Men's Basketball at Georgian Court
Box Score LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Nov. 20, 2013) – Senior LeBrandon Smith (Jamaica, N.Y. / Archbishop Molloy) poured in a career-high 25 points as the Mercy College men's basketball team took on Georgian Court University in the final tune-up ahead of the Mavericks' home opener this Tuesday.
A late Mercy rally fell just short, 87-82, on the last possession of the game and the Mavericks are now 0-3 on the season while the Lions improve to 1-3.
Mercy outshot its opponent, 45-42 percent from the field and 35-29 percent from beyond the arc, but a major free throw discrepancy (9-15 for the Mavericks vs. 25-31 for the Lions) made the difference.
Smith got started immediately, hitting a jumper on the first possession before the Lions took the lead on a three-pointer on their first trip down the court. Mercy briefly regained the lead at 6-5 on a jumper by senior Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y. / St. Mary's), but Georgian Court drained another trey to take it back.
Senior Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y. / St. Mary's) countered with a three-pointer to shift the lead back to the Mavericks, but once again the Lions scored on their next two possessions and held the lead for the rest of the game.
Mercy kept the deficit at four over the next six minutes, but Georgian Court would rattle off 11 straight points to surge to a 15-point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Mavericks slowly cut the deficit back to four with just 48 seconds to play, but a pair of layups and a free throw to complete an and-on saw the Lions lead by nine going into the break.
Georgian Court extended the lead all the way to 19 at the 15:50 mark in the second half before Mercy began to claw back, and 10 unanswered points over two minutes pulled them back within eight with 5:04 to play.
The Mavericks continued to chip away at the margin and a three-pointer by sophomore Daniel Pierrot (New York, N.Y. / Adelphi) cut the deficit to five points with 13 seconds remaining and another trey by junior Jordan Lessane (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon) made it a one-basket game, but with only two seconds left the Lions hit both their free throws as time expired to put the game out of reach and come away with the five-point victory.
Smith led the Mavericks with his 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting as Morrish and Pierrot each scored in double digits with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Lessane and Morrish each dished out six assists, with Morrish avoiding even a single turnover and Lessane also leading the squad with two steals.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks will host Holy Family University in their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
