Lyles Scores Season-High 28 Points as Men's Basketball Concludes Historic Season in ECC Semifinal Overtime Thriller Against Daemen
Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. (Mar. 5, 2016) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, highlighted by a season-high 28 points from senior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC), the No. 6 seed Mercy College men's basketball team saw their postseason run come to an end, dropping a, 103-102, overtime thriller to No. 2 seed Daemen College in an ECC Tournament Semifinal matchup on Saturday night at the UDC Sports Complex.
The Mavericks (13-15) see their historic season come to an end with the program's most wins in a season since the 1992-93 season. Mercy also qualified for the ECC Tournament for the first time since the conference was renamed the ECC prior to the 2006-07 season and earned the program's first-ever postseason win on Wednesday against UDC in the Quarterfinals. The Wildcats (19-9) win all three meetings between the two schools and advance to the championship game for the first time where they will meet No. 1 seed St. Thomas Aquinas tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
Lyles produced a game high in points in his final game as a Maverick and added nine rebounds in the full 45 minutes. Senior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) concluded his career with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while senior Joshua Thompson (Chester, Pa./Globe Institute) capped off his career with 14 points and five rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor. Junior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) added 14 points and fellow junior K.J. Rose (Binghamton, N.Y./Fairfield University) rounded out five scoring in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Torrence Dyck paced five scoring in double figures for Daemen with 23 points and ten rebounds.
In a contest that saw eight ties and ten lead changes, 40 minutes would not be enough time to decide a winner as the Wildcats needed five extra minutes in order to come away with the victory.
Daemen jumped out of the gates early with a 24-11 lead following a Deion Hamilton three at the 13:28 mark and looked to be on the verge of winning easily after winning the two previous meetings by double figures. However, as has been the case all season, the Mavericks would not go down without a fight and followed with a 20-10 run to cut the deficit to three, 34-31, with 7:18 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats built the lead back up to ten, 42-32, with 4:08 left before Mercy closed the period on an 11-1 run to head into the locker rooms tied at 43-43.
The Mavericks looked to have all the momentum heading into halftime, but Daemen came out in the second half and scored the first four points to take a 47-43 lead just under two minutes in. Mercy had an answer as they ensued with a 13-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 56-50, after a Lyles jumper with 15:19 left in regulation.
However, the Wildcats came back with a run of their own as they retook the lead and built it up to four, 77-73, with 6:17 left in the second half. Daemen held a four-point lead with 3:05 remaining in regulation and laid claim to a five-point advantage, 91-86, with 41 seconds left.
Mercy has become accustomed to late game heroics and tonight was no different as Robinson followed with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three. Following a Dyck turnover caused by a Rose steal, Lyles answered with a jumper to make it 91-90 in favor of the Wildcats with 17 seconds left. Mercy was forced to foul on the ensuing possession and Darius Garvin went 1-of-2 from the stripe, giving the Mavericks hope. Junior Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C./ASA College) took advantage and went the length of the court, connecting on a layup with eight seconds left to tie up the score at 92-92. Dyck, the leading scorer in the ECC, would get a look on the final Daemen possession but came up empty and the two teams headed to overtime tied at 92-92.
The extra frame saw the Wildcats begin the period on a 7-0 run to take a 99-92 lead and looked to be pulling away from the Mavericks. However, Mercy responded with a six-point possession that was started by Quijada being fouled on a three-point attempt. Quijada went 1-of-3 from the stripe with Thompson getting the rebound on the final free throw and laying it back up, while drawing a foul in the process. Thompson would miss the free throw which led to a pair of offensive rebounds and Lyles would get fouled shooting a three. Dyck fouled out on the play and Lyles made all three to cap the possession and get the Mavericks within one, 99-98, with 2:34 left.
After a Garvin layup with 2:29 left, Rose and Jennings followed with layups to give Mercy a 102-101 lead with 48 seconds left, forcing a Daemen timeout. Out of the timeout, Jay Sarkis drove to the basket and made a tough layup to put the Wildcats back up by one, 103-102, with 35 seconds left. The Mavericks pushed the ball up the floor and got three quality looks but the late game heroics would come to an end as Daemen emerged victorious.
The Mavericks shot 48.1 percent (37-of-77) from the floor, while the Wildcats shot 55.2 percent (32-of-58). Mercy held a 44-31 edge on the glass and a 25-6 advantage in second chance points.
