Cosbert and Hickey Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Hosts Berkeley in Home Opener
Box Score VALHALLA, N.Y. (Nov. 22, 2016) – Despite a team-high 16 points from senior Isaiah Cosbert (Queens, N.Y./Sullivan CC) and 15 points from graduate student Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y./Dowling College), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 76-72 decision to Berkeley College in their home opener at Westchester Community College on Tuesday night.
The Mavericks (1-5) drop their fourth straight game, while the Knights (4-0) have won 28 games in a row dating back to last year.
Cosbert shot 7-for-15 from the field and added four assists, while Hickey went 4-for-8 from the field and contributed six boards. Freshman Daniel Kissoon (Jamaica, N.Y./Springfield Gardens) scored eight points in his collegiate debut and junior Brendon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City CC) poured in six points with eight rebounds. Senior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) netted four points and a game-high 12 rebounds and senior Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C./ASA College) finished with six points and five assists. Junior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University) scored six points and had seven rebounds and junior Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) also recorded six points.
Berkeley was led by Massiah Merritt who had a game-high 20 points and six assists, while Johnnie Green contributed a double-double by way of 17 points and ten rebounds.
The Knights opened up the contest with the first three points before Kozul tied the game up at 3-3 with a three at the 17:38 mark. The three by Kozul started a 14-0 run by the Mavericks that gave them a 14-3 lead after a pair of Smith free throws with 14:15 left in the first half. Berkeley cut the Mercy lead to five, 20-15, with 9:43 left in the period, but the Mavericks answered with back-to-back threes from Howard to increase the lead back to double digits, 26-15, forcing a Knights timeout.
Out of the timeout, Berkeley would trim the Mercy lead to six, 28-22, with 3:59 on the clock. The Mavericks followed with a 13-5 run to take their largest lead of the game, 41-27, with 36 seconds left before halftime. A Dondre Simmons jumper just before halftime put the Mercy lead at 41-29 at the break.
The Knights came out of the locker rooms with a Simmons layup on their first possession of the half, which would start an 18-1 run over the course of the first six minutes that gave Berkeley a 47-42 lead. Cosbert recorded the Mavericks first field goal of the half at the 12:26 mark and Hickey added a trifecta to tie the game up at 47-47 with 11:20 remaining.
A Robinson layup with 8:41 left made the score 51-50 in favor of the Knights. Berkeley ensued with eight straight points to take their largest lead of the game, 59-50, with 7:18 on the clock. The Knights continued to lead by nine, 68-59, with 1:49 left before the Mavericks followed with a 9-2 run that got Mercy within two, 70-68, at the 38 second mark.
Berkeley went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe to increase the lead to 73-68 with 24 seconds left. Kozul made it a one possession game with 17 seconds after two free throws, but the Knights would close the game with two of the final three points to steal the win.
Mercy shot 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the field, while Berkeley shot 37.3 percent (25-for-67). The Mavericks connected on 41.7 percent (10-for-24) of their three-point attempts and held a 46-44 advantage on the boards. Berkeley held a 28-14 advantage in points off turnovers off of 26 Mercy turnovers.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks look to rebound when they play at Caldwell on Monday, November 28th at 7:30 p.m.
