Hot-Shooting and Four in Double Figures Leads Men's Basketball to 3-0 Start
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 25, 2014) – Led by a blistering 63.9 percent shooting night and four players in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team improved to 3-0 with a 103-96 victory over Salem International University on Tuesday evening in Mercy Gymnasium.
The 3-0 start for Mercy is their best as a Division II member and best since the 1972-73 season when they were a Division III member and started the season 8-0.
With the win the Mavericks match their win total from all of last year, while the Tigers fall to 0-3 to begin their 2014-15 season.
Mercy came out in front of another large home crowd and continued its strong shooting to begin the season as they shot 63.9 percent for the game and a stunning 69.0 percent in the second half when the game was in the balance.
The visitors from West Virginia came in averaging over 89 points per game on the season against stiff competition and started strong in the opening half, building a seven-point lead, 24-17, with 8:11 remaining in the first half.
The Mavericks climbed their way back with a 7-0 run, receiving a trifecta and layup from graduate student Terrance Murchie (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) and a pair of free throws from junior Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC) to tie the score up at 24-24 with just under seven minutes left before intermission.
Salem International rebounded to retake the lead and led 43-38 with 1:18 remaining in the opening frame before Mercy closed the period on a 10-2 run to storm into the locker rooms up three, 48-45.
Despite the Mavericks leading scorer junior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC) only scoring five points in the first half, Mercy was able to hang in the game as McClease and Murchie put together their best halves of the season with 15 and 12 points, respectively at the break.
Mercy shot 59.4 percent in the opening half but were plagued by turnovers as they had trouble adjusting to the Tigers pressure. The Mavericks held Salem International to 42.9 percent shooting, but eight triples in the first 20 minutes kept the Tigers within striking distance.
The second stanza saw the home team pick up where they left off at the end of the first half and Lyles found his groove draining back-to-back triples to begin the half and junior Brandon Alford (Hempstead, N.Y./Sullivan CC) made a pair of free throws to give Mercy their first double-digit lead of the game at 56-45 with 18:39 left to play.
The visitors would not go away as they responded with a 13-4 run over the next three minutes to get within two, 60-58, with 15:35 left in regulation. However, the Mavericks began to figure out the Salem International defense which led to easy baskets and buckets by sophomore Najee Senior (Bronx, N.Y./Western Okla. State College) and junior Joshua Thompson (Chester, Pa./Globe Institute) put Mercy back up nine, 75-66, with just under ten to play.
The Mavericks built their lead back up to double digits on numerous occasions but the duo of Alex Webb and David Atkinson would keep the guests in the game with their key three-point shooting. After Atkinson hit a triple with 7:26 left to play that cut the Mercy lead to four, the Mavericks ensued with a 14-2 run that increased the lead to 16, 97-81, at the 4:17 mark and put the game out of reach.
Mercy was able to hang on despite 16 trifectas from the guests, including eight from Webb. The Mavericks finished a strong 20-of-25 (80 percent) from the line and outrebounded the Tigers 35-28. The bench also came up big for Mercy as they outscored the Tigers bench 50-20, led by a season-high 20 points from Senior and a season-high 16 points from Murchie.
McClease ended the day with his best outing of the season, pouring in 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting while finishing with nine boards and five assists. Senior put together his best performance of the season going 7-of-11 from the floor with four rebounds. Murchie finished the game 7-of-9 from the field and Lyles capped off another strong showing with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting along with five rebounds, four assists and a game-high six steals.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks return to action on Thursday, December 4th at 8 p.m. as they open East Coast Conference play on the road at Molloy College.
