Five Mavericks Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Takes on Concordia
Box Score ORANGEBURG, N.Y. (Nov. 18, 2016) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures and a late second-half run, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision to Concordia College in a non-conference matchup at the 5th Annual Daniel Sullivan Memorial Tournament on Friday night at the Hennessy Center.
The Mavericks (1-3) drop their second straight game, while the Clippers (1-3) pick up their first win of the season.
Graduate student Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y./Dowling College) led Mercy with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting and added four rebounds and three assists. Senior Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C./ASA College) nearly recorded a double-double with 14 points and nine assists and senior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Junior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds and junior Jefferson Francois (New York, N.Y./Hostos CC) almost finished with a double-double by way of ten points and nine rebounds.
Concordia was led by Stephen Milhaven who had a game-high 21 points and 16 rebounds. Jalen Heath also finished with a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
The Clippers jumped out to a 3-0 lead early before Hickey nailed the first of five threes on the day to even up the score at 3-3 with 19:37 left in the half. Concordia held a 10-9 advantage after a Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) for the Mavericks, but the Clippers followed with a 34-17 run to take their largest lead of the game, 44-26, with 2:01 left before halftime. Kozul closed the half with four straight points to make it 44-30 at halftime with Concordia in the lead.
The second half saw the Clippers increase the lead to 16, 63-47, with 10:10 remaining and looked to be well on their way to their first victory. However, the Mavericks under Head Coach Dr. Jody King would not go down without a fight and responded with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to seven, 65-58, with 7:26 remaining. After a pair of Milhaven free throws, Francois answered with a pair of buckets to get the Mavericks within five, 67-62, with 6:10 left.
Concordia pushed the lead back up to nine, 71-62, with 4:24 remaining, but Mercy answered by tying up the score at 73-73 with 2:31 left after another 11-2 run. After the teams traded made free throws to make the score 74-74, Francois came up with his biggest basket to date as a Maverick with 56 seconds left to give Mercy their first lead of the game at 76-74.
The Clippers answered on their next possession with a three-pointer to retake the lead at 77-76 with 31 seconds on the clock. The Mavericks turned over the ball on their following possession which led to them fouling Heath who made one free throw to give Concordia a 78-76 lead with 14 seconds left. After Heath missed the second free throw, senior Isaiah Cosbert (Queens, N.Y./Sullivan CC) missed the game-tying jumper with seven seconds on the next Mercy trip down the court. Milhaven secured the rebound on the miss and made two free throws after being fouled to secure the victory for the Clippers.
The Mavericks shot 44.0 percent (33-for-75) from the floor, while the Clippers shot 46.9 percent (30-for-64). Concordia held a 47-43 edge on the glass, while Mercy held a 17-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they play at Dominican College at 8 p.m.
