Five Mavericks Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Battles UDC
Box Score VALHALLA, N.Y. (Jan. 14, 2017) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 80-74 decision to the University of the District of Columbia in an ECC matchup on Saturday afternoon at Westchester Community College.
The Mavericks (2-14, 0-8 ECC) remain winless in ECC play, while the Firebirds (10-6, 7-1 ECC) remain in first place in the ECC standings. UDC ends a four-game losing streak to Mercy dating back to 2014-15.
Graduate student Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y./Dowling College) paced the Mavericks with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and is now just two points shy of 1,000 for his career. Senior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) contributed a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while also adding five assists. Junior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University) chipped in 12 points and four assists and freshman Daniel Kissoon (Jamaica, N.Y./Springfield Gardens) netted a career-high 12 points off the bench. Junior Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) also scored in double figures with ten points on 4-of-6 shooting.
UDC was led by Joseph Nickerson who recorded a double-double with a game-high 26 points along with a team-high ten rebounds.
After a tough loss at St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday, the Mavericks looked to bounce back and were faced with the challenge of taking on the first place Firebirds. UDC jumped out to an early 8-2 lead at the 16:24 mark of the opening half and looked to be distancing themselves from Mercy. However, the Mavericks battled back and evened the score up at 11-11 after a Kozul three with 14:06 remaining in the half.
UDC held a 22-21 lead with 7:20 remaining in the half, following a Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C./ASA College) layup, before adding on a 17-6 run that gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 39-27, at the 1:45 mark. The Firebirds looked to be running away with the contest, but Mercy concluded the half on a 7-2 run, capped off by another Kozul three, making it 41-34 at halftime in favor of UDC.
The Firebirds began the second half with a three-point play to increase the lead back to double digits, 44-34, but the Mavericks weren't giving up and answered with 17-6 run to take their first lead of the game with 14:30 left after a Robinson layup. Khalil Jackson and Hickey traded threes before Butler added a layup and Jackson made a pair of free throws to give UDC a 57-54 advantage with 12 minutes remaining.
A Nickerson three-point play gave the Firebirds a 60-57 lead with 11:18 remaining. Mercy continued to fight first-place UDC and answered with an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 65-60, with 7:56 left on the clock. The Firebirds followed with five straight points in less than a minute to even the game back up at 65-65. Robinson nailed a free throw and Jennings hit a clutch three at the 5:16 mark to put the Mavericks back in front, 69-65.
UDC once again had an answer and put up seven unanswered to build a three-point lead, 72-69, with 2:34 remaining. Howard came down the floor on the next Mercy possession and tied the game up, 72-72 with a three with just over two minutes left. After a Mavericks timeout, Kasim Chandler scored a layup to give the Firebirds the lead for good as UDC ended the contest on an 8-2 run to secure the win. Mercy could only produce two points in the final 2:17 of the game.
Mercy shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the floor, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from downtown and 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from the foul line. UDC shot 57.1 percent (28-of-49) from the field, 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from beyond the arc and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the foul line. The Mavericks held a 34-30 edge on the boards and a 17-7 advantage in second chance points.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks look to rebound when they play at NYIT on Wednesday, January 18th at 7 p.m.
