Five Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Earns Fifth Straight Win With 88-83 Victory Over Roberts Wesleyan
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 11, 2016) – Powered by all five starters scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned its fifth straight win with an, 88-83, victory over Roberts Wesleyan College in an East Coast Conference matchup on Thursday night at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (11-9, 8-6 ECC) have now won five in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season and are two games above .500 in the month of February for the first time since the 1992-93 season. With the win, Mercy increases their lead for the final ECC Tournament spot to 2.5 games over Dowling. Mercy picks up their eighth conference which is the most for the program since the 2004-05 season. The Mavericks also move two games over .500 in conference play in the month of February for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The Redhawks (6-14, 3-11 ECC) fail to build off their win against Dowling and have lost four of their last five games.
Senior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added eight rebounds, while junior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) ended the night with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior K.J. Rose (Binghamton, N.Y./Fairfield University) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Fellow junior Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C./ASA College) chipped in 13 points and senior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) rounded out five scoring in double figures with 11 points.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by senior Mike Stone who scored a team-high-tying 16 points and recorded his 1,000th career point at the 13:41 mark of the first half. Also, scoring 16 points was Malik Dare who finished with a double-double with ten rebounds.
The Mavericks entered tonight's game looking to increase their lead over Dowling for the sixth and final playoff spot and would not disappoint a packed house inside Mercy Gymnasium.
The Redhawks got off to a strong start as they jumped out to an 18-14 lead with 9:44 left in the first half following a Quinn Carey trifecta. However, Mercy came right back with seven unanswered to build a 21-18 advantage at the 8:14 mark.
The visitors responded with a 15-8 run to retake the lead at 33-29 with 3:05 left before intermission. Roberts Wesleyan looked to be pulling away right before halftime but the Mavericks had other ideas as they closed the half on an 11-4 run to take a 40-37 lead into halftime.
Mercy came out with something to prove in the second half as they opened the period on a 12-5 run, capped off by a Quijada three, to increase the lead to double digits for the first time at 52-42 with 17:26 remaining.
The Redhawks got back within three, 56-53, at the 13:37 mark and looked to be on the verge of overtaking the Mavericks. Junior Isaiah Cosbert (Queens, N.Y./Sullivan CC) came down and knocked down a triple to increase the lead back to six and Mercy took it up to a game-high 12 points, 71-59, following a Lyles at the 8:42 mark.
Roberts Wesleyan had one last run in them as they ensued with an 18-9 run to cut the Mavericks lead to three, 80-77, with 1:32 left. The Redhawks looked to have all the momentum, but Mercy turned to its defense to force a stop and the Mavericks would score three of the next four points in the game at the charity stripe to build the lead to 83-78 with 36 seconds left.
Marcus Gooding came down and nailed a three to get the visitors within two, 83-81, with 29 seconds left. The ensuing Mavericks possession saw Lyles draw a foul and go to the line and make 1-of-2 to increase the lead to three, 84-81, with 24 seconds left. The next Roberts Wesleyan trip down the floor saw Tyrel Dixon dunk one home to get the guests within one, 84-83, with 15 seconds left.
Jennings came down and drained a pair at the line following a Redhawks foul to put the Mavericks up 86-83 with 10 seconds showing on the clock. Following a Mercy timeout, Roberts Wesleyan got a good look at a game-tying three from Stone but Jennings came away with the rebound with a second left. Jennings would go on to knock down a pair of free throws to seal the win for the Mavericks.
Mercy shot a season-high 50.0 percent (34-of-68) from the floor, while holding Roberts Wesleyan to 47.7 percent (31-of-65). The Mavericks held a 40-35 edge on the glass and 50-36 advantage in paint points.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks look to make it six straight as they host Daemen College on Saturday, February 13th at 2:30 p.m.
