Men's Basketball Second-Half Rally Comes Up Short at Roberts Wesleyan
Box Score ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Feb. 20, 2015) – Despite a late second-half surge and a game-high 16 points from junior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 58-54 decision to East Coast Conference foe Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday night at Voller Athletic Center.
The Mavericks (7-16, 2-15 ECC) drop their second consecutive game by four points, while the Redhawks (10-12, 6-10 ECC) snap a two-game skid.
Quijada reached double figures for the fifth consecutive game going 4-of-7 from downtown while adding five boards and three assists. Junior Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC) added his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Fellow junior Lazaro Martinez (Harlem, N.Y./Mohawk Valley CC) rounded out three scoring in double figures with 14 points.
On a cold-shooting night that saw both teams shoot under 40 percent from the field, the Mavericks started off strong by taking an 11-6 lead with 13:59 left in the first half. The Redhawks would claw their way back and take their largest lead of the half, 21-16, at the 5:17 mark.
However, Mercy closed the half on a 10-4 run to head into the locker rooms up 26-25.
The second stanza saw the home team come out of the break on an 18-4 run to regain the lead and stretch it out to a game-high 13 points, 43-30, with 12:35 left to play.
The Mavericks despite being undermanned once again would not go down without a fight as has been the trademark under Head Coach Dr. Jody King all season. After a Roberts Wesleyan jumper with 11:25 on the clock made it 45-33, Mercy responded with a 10-0 to cut the deficit to two, 45-43, with 6:23 showing.
The deficit got down to two on a couple of occasions for the Mavericks and even got to one, 53-52, on a Najee Senior (Bronx, N.Y./Western Okla. State College) jumper with 1:56 remaining, but the Redhawks responded with four unanswered to make it 57-52 with 31 seconds left and they would escape with the win.
The home team shot 37.0 percent from the field while Mercy shot only 32.8 percent from the field on a cold-shooting night for both teams. The Redhawks held a 42-37 edge on the glass and went 15-of-20 from the charity stripe compared to 8-of-10 by the Mavericks.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks have a short turnaround as they take on Daemen College tomorrow at 4 p.m. before heading home.
