Foundation Set as Men's Basketball Ends Season With Dramatic Conference Road Win Over UDC
Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 26, 2015) – Powered by a pair of game-winning free throws with one second remaining in regulation from sophomore Najee Senior (Bronx, N.Y./Western Okla. State College) and all five starters scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team concluded their 2014-15 season with a 79-77 triumph over the University of the District of Columbia on Thursday night at the UDC Sports Complex.
The Mavericks (8-18, 3-17 ECC) conclude the season under first-year Head Coach Dr. Jody King with their most wins since winning eight games during the 2007-08 season and win at UDC for the first time. Mercy also matches its conference win total from a year ago, while the Firebirds (5-22, 5-14 ECC) have now dropped four in a row with a trip to first place St. Thomas Aquinas left on the schedule.
Juniors Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) and Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC) led the way for the Mavericks scoring a team-high 17 points apiece with McClease also adding five boards. Junior Lazaro Martinez (Harlem, N.Y./Mohawk Valley CC) chipped in 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and Senior netted 10 points including going a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. Junior Baboucarr Bah (Bronx, N.Y./SUNY Ulster) poured in a season-high 10 points and grabbed six boards in his first start of the season.
Mercy got off to a quick start in a contest that featured seven ties and six lead changes, taking their largest lead of the game, 17-5, at the 14:14 mark on a McClease layup. UDC, who was celebrating Senior Night, came right back with a 23-10 run over the next nine minutes to take their first lead of the game, 28-27, with 5:33 left before half.
However, the Mavericks responded with a 10-4 run to close the half and head into the intermission up 37-32.
Mercy used 55.2 percent shooting in the opening half to build their lead and held the Firebirds to only 40 percent from the floor. UDC was able to stay in the contest with five made threes and four more made free throws than the Mavericks.
The second half saw the home team open up with five straight points to cut the deficit to one, 37-36, forcing a Mercy timeout. A 9-2 run followed the timeout to build the lead back up to eight, 46-38, with 16:47 remaining. The Mavericks would get the lead back up to nine, 50-41, following a Quijada layup, but a 19-8 run by UDC gave them their first lead since the first half at 60-58 with 11:25 showing on the clock.
Mercy ensued with an 11-3 run to retake the lead and go up six, 69-63, following a Joshua Thompson (Chester, Pa./Globe Institute) layup at the 8:09 mark. The Firebirds realizing the game was slipping way rallied and got back-to-back trifectas from Michael Terry, who had a game-high 27 points, to take the lead back 75-73 with just 3:31 left.
McClease tied the game up at 75-75 with a pair of free throws before the teams went over two minutes without a basket until Quijada came through with a jumper to put the Mavericks up 77-75 with 56 seconds remaining. The next offensive possession for UDC resulted in a layup to even up the score at 77-77 with 38 seconds left.
The Mavericks, who have played shorthanded and have been in close games throughout the season, would have their season come down to 38 seconds trying to end the season on a positive note and build for next year.
Senior would get the ball at the end of the game and missed a jumper with five seconds left that was rebounded by UDC. However, the sophomore would not be denied as he came up with a steal and was immediately fouled with a chance to send Mercy out on a good note. Senior came through and knocked down both to put the Mavericks up 79-77 with only one second on the clock and the defense held to secure the win.
Mercy ended the night shooting 54.7 percent from the field and had their best foul shooting night of the season by going 16-of-18 from the line. The Mavericks were able to hold on despite the Firebirds going 11-of-23 from downtown and holding a 32-26 edge on the glass.
