ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Nov. 19, 2017) – Powered by a game high 29 points from junior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) and a double-double from junior Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team earned a 76-71 victory over Georgian Court University on Sunday afternoon at Roberts Wesleyan College.
The Mavericks (2-2) match their win total from all of last year and defeat the Lions (0-5) for the second straight year.
Barbetto went 9-of-16 from the floor and had six rebounds. Richards had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while senior Brendon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City CC) recorded six points and five rebounds.
Georgian Court was led by Nikola Vujovic who had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The opening stanza saw the Lions jump out to a 6-5 lead at the 17:08 mark. The Mavericks quickly responded with a 9-0 run to take a 14-6 lead following a Barbetto three with 15:01 on the clock. Richards later gave Mercy a ten-point lead, 21-11, with 10:11 remaining in the half after a free throw.
After a three-pointer from the Lions cut the Mavericks lead to seven, Mercy responded by going on a 15-8 run to take their largest lead of the half, 36-22, following two free throws from Barbetto with 1:08 left in the half. Georgian Court nailed a three pointer at the buzzer to head into halftime down nine, 36-27.
The Lions opened the second half by cutting the Mercy lead to five, 40-35, at the 14:27 mark. However, the Mavericks would not back down and followed by increasing the lead back to nine, 45-36, after a Richards dunk at the 11:46 mark.
Georgian Court quickly regained their edge and cut the Mavericks lead to four, 45-41, but Mercy answered with an 8-0 run to put the lead back to 12, 53-41, with 9:45 left. A pair of Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) free throws at the 7:29 mark gave the Mavericks a 16-point lead, 62-46, with 7:29 left on the clock.
The Lions came charging back on a 25-12 run over the next seven minutes that trimmed the Mercy lead to three, 74-71, with 12 seconds left. After a Georgian Court foul, Barbetto drained two free throws to increase the lead to 76-71 with five seconds on the clock. The Mavericks would hold on for the victory as time ran out on the Lions.
Mercy shot 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from downtown and 82.8 percent (24-of-29) from the foul line. Georgian Court shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from beyond the arc and 67.7 percent (21-of-31) from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, November 29th when they host Nyack College at Westchester Community College at 7 p.m.
