Five Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Plays at Dowling
Box Score OAKDALE, N.Y. (Feb. 24, 2016) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team put up a valiant fight before succumbing to Dowling College, 76-73, in an East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup on Wednesday night at Dowling Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (12-13, 9-10 ECC) have now dropped two in a row and fall into a tie for the sixth and final ECC Tournament spot with the Golden Lions (13-13, 9-10 ECC) who have won three of their last four games.
Junior K.J. Rose (Binghamton, N.Y./Fairfield University) led the way with 11 points and nine rebounds, while seniors Shaquille Stokes (Harlem, N.Y./College of Saint Rose) and Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC) also picked up 11 points apiece. Junior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) recorded his sixth double-double of the season by way of ten points and 13 rebounds, while senior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) chipped in ten points and a team-high four assists off the bench.
Dowling was led by Chris Millender who scored a game-high 26 points on efficient 11-of-12 shooting and added a game-high-tying 13 rebounds.
Mercy entered the contest needing a win to secure the program's first ECC Tournament berth since the 2000-01 season and led throughout before a late rally by the hosts gave the Golden Lions the victory.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 19-15 lead at the 9:09 mark following an Isaiah Cosbert (Queens, N.Y./Sullivan CC) jumper. Dowling immediately responded with an 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the half, 26-21, with 6:38 left before halftime.
The Golden Lions looked to be distancing themselves from Mercy, but the Mavericks came right back with an 11-0 run to build a 32-26 lead following a Quijada jumper at the 3:08 mark. Mercy would maintain a six-point lead, 41-35, heading into halftime as Lyles nailed a jumper just before the buzzer.
The Mavericks carried over the momentum from the end of the first half to the second half as they opened the period on an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 14, 49-35, after a Rose jumper at the 18:00 minute mark.
Rose later connected on a free throw that gave Mercy their largest lead of the night, 54-37, with 16 minutes remaining. The Mavericks looked to be on the verge of securing that elusive playoff spot, but the hosts had other plans as they followed with a 28-15 run to cut the Mercy lead to just four, 69-65, with 3:52 remaining.
Stokes followed with a pair of free throws at the 2:42 mark to increase the lead back to six, 71-65. However, the Golden Lions ensued with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Myron Hickman three-point play, to take their first lead since the 5:13 mark of the first half at 72-71 with 45 seconds left.
Rose came down on the next Mavericks possession and drained a jumper to put Mercy back up 73-72 with just 27 seconds on the clock. The following Dowling possession saw the Mavericks force a missed jumper but an offensive rebound would lead to an Ali Mableton jumper with 14 seconds left that gave the Golden Lions a 74-73 lead.
Mercy turned the ball over on their next possession which led to a basket at the other end for Dowling as time expired to seal the come-from-behind victory for the Golden Lions.
The Mavericks shot 39.0 percent (30-of-77) from the floor, while the Golden Lions made 47.5 percent (29-of-61) of their attempts. Mercy held a 48-45 edge on the glass and a 16-13 advantage in second chance points.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks will look to rebound on Senior Day against Bridgeport in their regular season finale on Saturday, February 27th at 2:30 p.m.
