Four Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Opens 2015 With Triumph Over Berkeley
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 3, 2015) – Led by four scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team opened up 2015 with an impressive 87-62 victory over Berkeley College on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (5-4) now have their most wins in a season since the 2007-08 season when they won eight games and the 25-point win is the largest margin of victory since Mercy defeated Molloy College, 107-79, on February 23, 2005. The Knights (7-4) have now dropped two in a row following a six-game winning streak.
Junior Lazaro Martinez (Harlem, N.Y./Mohawk Valley CC) led four in double figures with his game-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and added four rebounds. Junior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) chipped in with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and dished out a game-high eight assists in his Mavericks debut.
Also contributing for the Mavericks was junior Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC) who added his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds on a 7-for-14 shooting afternoon. Junior Tyshon Carter (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Monroe College) rounded out four scoring in double figures with a season-high 10 points while securing five boards.
Kenton Chan-Man paced three in double figures for Berkeley with 15 points.
After ending 2014 with a win over Felician, Mercy began 2015 with a bang jumping out to an early 8-2 lead in front of the home crowd. The guests would score six unanswered to tie the game up at 8-8 with 15:35 left in the first half.
However, the Mavericks would go on a 27-10 run over the next 11 minutes to take the lead for good at 35-18 following a jumper from junior Jeremiah Brown (Queens Bridge, N.Y./Hostos CC) with 4:37 left before intermission.
Berkeley would close the half on a 4-0 run to cut the Mercy lead to 44-32 heading into the break and with some momentum.
The Knights came out of the locker rooms with the first basket of the frame to cut the Mercy lead to 44-34. The Mavericks responded once again and built the lead back up to double figures at 14, 51-37, following a Quijada jumper. The guests would make another run, this time an 8-2 spurt, that cut the deficit to single digits, 53-45, with 13:24 remaining for the first since the 8:33 mark of the first half.
Mercy however would end any thought of a Berkeley comeback with a 26-4 run over the next seven minutes that gave the Mavericks their largest lead of the game, 79-49, with 6:38 remaining, putting the game out of reach.
Another strong shooting performance helped Mercy as they shot 51.6 percent (33-for-64) from the field on the day and held the Knights to only a 37.7 percent (23-for-61) clip. The Mavericks also held a 44-32 edge on the glass, a 30-11 edge in bench points and dished out 22 assists on 33 made field goals.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks return to action on Wednesday, January 7th at home against East Coast Conference foe LIU Post with tip off set for 7:30 p.m.
