Lyles Pours in Game-High 22 Points as Men's Basketball Takes on Bridgeport in ECC Matchup
Box Score BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Dec. 13, 2014) – Despite a game-high 22 points from junior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 77-64 decision to East Coast Conference (ECC) foe University of Bridgeport on Saturday afternoon at Hubbell Gym.
The Mavericks (3-3, 0-3 ECC) have now lost three games in a row, all coming to the top three seeds in last year's ECC Tournament, while the Purple Knights (5-3, 3-0 ECC) remain perfect in conference play and have won three straight games.
Mercy took an early 7-6 lead over the hosts on one of Lyles' four threes at the 14:33 mark of the first half, but that would be the Mavericks last lead of the game as Bridgeport outscored Mercy 34-15 to close out the half and head into the locker rooms up 40-22.
A cold-shooting first half hampered the Mavericks attempt to stay in the game as they shot only 33.3 percent (8-for-24) in the frame compared to 46.9 percent (15-for-32) for the home team. Lyles led the team with nine points in the half going 3-for-4 from downtown.
The second half saw freshman Matthew Boyd (Hempstead, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) hit a trifecta to get Mercy on the board first and cut the Purple Knights lead to 15, 40-25, but Bridgeport responded with a 8-2 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 48-27 with 16:27 left.
The Purple Knights would continue to maintain a comfortable lead at 60-41 with 10:37 left before the Mavericks put a scare into the hosts as they went on a 15-5 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to single digits, 65-56, with 4:27 remaining after junior Ricardo Carroll's (Maywood, N.J./Bergen CC) triple.
However, Bridgeport responded immediately with a 9-0 run to increase the lead back to 18, 74-56, at the 2:05 mark to put the game out of reach.
The Mavericks shot 36.1 percent in the second half to finish the day at 35.0 percent (21-for-60), while the Purple Knights connected on 54.5 percent of their second half attempts to end up at an even 50.0 percent (27-for-54). Mercy was able to make their second half run in part to six triples in the frame and a 9-3 edge on the offensive glass.
Lyles finished with his game high in points on 6-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-8 from downtown and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Junior Jeremiah Brown (Queens Bridge, N.Y./Hostos CC) chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds, while Carroll ended with a season-high 10 points. Boyd had his strongest outing to date, finishing with nine points, a game-high nine assists along with six rebounds.
The Purple Knights were led by Ernest Rouse who scored a team-high 18 point to lead all five starters scoring in double figures.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks return to the hardwood on Monday, December 15th for a non-conference tilt at Wilmington (Del.) at 8 p.m.
