Lyles' Game-High 24 Points Leads Men's Basketball to Season-Opening Win at Nyack
Box Score NYACK, N.Y. (Nov. 14, 2014) – Powered by a game-high 24 points from junior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC) in his Mavericks debut, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned a 56-45 season-opening win over Nyack College in Head Coach Dr. Jody King's debut on the sidelines for the Mavericks.
Mercy opens the season up with a win for the first time since the 2005-06 season, while Nyack begins their 2014-15 campaign with a loss.
Despite a new coaching staff and only four returners from a year ago, the Mavericks were able to get off to a solid start to their 2014-15 season as Lyles began his tenure at Mercy with five points within the first three minutes of the game to make his presence known.
The two teams traded baskets for the early part of the first half before the Mavericks scored five unanswered on junior Joshua Thompson's (Chester, Pa./Globe Institute) jumper, sophomore Najee Senior's (Bronx, N.Y./Western Okla. State College) trifecta and junior Lazaro Martinez's (Harlem, N.Y./Mohawk Valley CC) dunk to take a 22-16 lead with 6:23 left in the first half.
Mercy held the lead at 24-18 with just over a minute left in the frame before the hosts ended the period on a 5-0 run to get within one, 24-23, at the intermission.
The Mavericks defense held the Warriors to 33.3 percent (8-of-24) shooting from the field in the opening half and was able to hold a 20-17 edge on the glass.
The second half saw Nyack take their first lead of the game, 25-24, since the 8:51 mark of the first half with a layup 30 seconds into the period and it looked like the hosts may be continuing their momentum from the end of the opening half.
However, Mercy had other plans as they followed with a 17-6 run over the next eight minutes that gave them their first double-digit lead of the contest, 41-31, after junior Jeremiah Brown (Queens Bridge, N.Y./Hostos CC) drained a pair of free throws.
The hosts would not go down easily as they clawed their way back with an 10-2 run of their own to get within two, 43-41, with just over seven minutes remaining.
That would be the closest Nyack would get for the remainder of the game as Brown nailed a free throw and Lyles ensued with a trey and a jumper to put the Mavericks up for good at 49-41 with 4:40 remaining. Mercy would build their largest lead of the contest, 56-43, with 24 seconds remaining after Lyles finished off his impressive debut with a pair of free throws and the Mavericks headed home victorious.
Mercy was able to distance themselves from Nyack by shooting 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from the floor in the second half and was 9-of-13 from the charity stripe. The Mavericks defense also showed its hand, holding the Warriors to 38.9 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers in the second stanza.
The Mavericks finished the evening shooting 41.2 percent from the field and held a 35-32 edge on the boards. Mercy's defense also came up big, holding the hosts to only 35.7 percent shooting and also used 19 Nyack turnovers, turning it into a 26-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Lyles shot an efficient 8-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-9 from downtown and also netted six rebounds. Brown chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds in his Mavericks debut and Martinez added eight points and seven rebounds in his first game in a Mercy uniform.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks will return to Dobbs Ferry for their home opener on Saturday, November 22nd against Georgian Court beginning at 2 p.m.
