Martinez Scores Season-High 24 Points as Men's Basketball Hosts Roberts Wesleyan
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 16, 2015) – Despite a game-high 24 points from junior Lazaro Martinez (Harlem, N.Y./Mohawk Valley CC) and a 48 percent shooting night, the Mercy College men's basketball team suffered a 73-70 setback to East Coast Conference opponent Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday night at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (6-6, 1-5 ECC) drop their second in a row following a three-game winning streak, while the Redhawks (7-5, 3-3 ECC) snap a two-game losing streak and improve to .500 in league play.
Martinez reached his season high in points on a strong 10-for-15 shooting night and had a game-high eight boards. Also reaching double figures was sophomore Tyshon Carter (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Monroe College) who poured in a season-high 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 night from the field and 3-for-3 from downtown. Rounding out three reaching double digits was junior Jeremiah Brown (Queens Bridge, N.Y./Hostos CC) who netted 10 points and four assists on the evening.
Isaac Medeiros paced Roberts Wesleyan with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
The visitors from Rochester got off to a hot start, scoring the first ten points of the contest, but the Mavericks as has been their trademark all season climbed right back and responded with a 15-3 run to take a 15-13 lead midway through the half.
Roberts Wesleyan would tie up at 15-15 with 10:26 left in the first before Mercy tallied eight of the next 10 points to take a 23-17 lead following a layup by graduate student Terrance Murchie (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey). The Mavericks would maintain a 31-26 lead with 3:13 remaining in the first half before they closed the period on a 9-3 run to head into the locker rooms up 40-29.
Mercy was able to build the lead helped by 50 percent (14-for-28) shooting from the field and connected on seven of their nine three-point attempts, while holding the guests to 43.3 percent (13-for-30) shooting.
The second half started just as the first half finished for the Mavericks as they got on the board less than 10 seconds in to take a 13-point lead, 42-29. The Redhawks would cut it back to single digits, 42-33, with 18:19 left to play, but Mercy had another run in them as they went on an 18-6 run over the next five minutes capped off by a Martinez dunk to take their largest lead of the game at 60-39 with 13:01 on the clock.
The game looked to be well in hand for the Mavericks, but Roberts Wesleyan had other plans as they slowly clawed its way back into the game. A 28-7 run over 12 minutes by the Redhawks led to the game being tied for the first time since early in the first half at 67-67 at the 1:16 mark.
A Tyrel Dixon layup gave the visitors their first lead since the 11:41 mark of the first half at 69-67 with 44 seconds remaining, but following a Mercy timeout the Mavericks were able to draw a foul and go to the line. However, after making the first Mercy could not connect on the second and would be forced to foul.
After Dixon went 1-for-2 at the line with 20 seconds left to play, the Mavericks had another chance to tie but would come up empty on a jumper leading to two free throws for Roberts Wesleyan that gave them a 72-68 lead with only seven seconds left. Freshman Matthew Boyd (Hempstead, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) drove down and cut it to two, 72-70, with three seconds left, but time would run out as a desperation three to tie would not go down and the Redhawks escaped with the win.
Roberts Wesleyan was able to make the comeback as the Mavericks went nearly seven minutes in between field goals down the stretch. The guests shot a strong 50 percent (26-for-52) from the field and outrebounded the Mavericks 33-29. The Redhawks were able to maintain a 40-22 edge in points in the paint, but Mercy held a 25-16 edge in points off turnovers despite committing five more turnovers than the visitors.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks have a quick turnaround as they host Daemen College tomorrow, Saturday, January 17th at 2:30 p.m.
