NYACK, N.Y. (Jan. 18, 2018) – Despite a game high 28 points and 13 rebounds from junior Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team fell 81-75 to Concordia College on Thursday evening at Bowman Gymnasium.

The Mavericks (8-9) fall below .500 on the year, while the Clippers (8-10) improve their win streak to four.

Richards led the Mavericks with the only double-double of the night, while also adding two assists and one steal. Senior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University) also recorded double figures, with 12 points, six rebounds, and one block. Junior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) added nine points, six rebounds and a game high seven assists and four steals.

For the Clippers, Brandon Fields finished the night with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Andrew Peacock added fourteen points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

The Mavericks got out to a quick lead in the start of the first half, recording six unanswered points in the first two minutes of action. Stephen Milhaven put the Clippers on the board with a three point shot, but the Mavericks answered back with a dunk from Brendon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City CC) to give the Mavericks an 8-3 lead. The Mavericks maintained their lead, however the Clippers continued to creep up and tighten the score. Eight unanswered points from Concordia would give them the 24-23 lead with 11:46 left on the clock. The remainder of the half was a back and forth game, with the Clippers eventually heading into halftime with a 40-37 lead over the Mavericks. Richards led the Mavericks with 12 points and six rebounds in the first half. Milhaven led the Clippers with ten points in fourteen minutes of action.

Richards got off to a strong start in the second half, recording the first ten points for the Mavericks in less than four minutes of play. Richards' success at the basket was able to put the Mavericks up 47-46 with 16:44 on the clock. The second half remained to be a back and forth game, with the score being tied on eight separate occasions. The Mavericks and Clippers found themselves tied for final time with 2:21 on the clock at 73-73. Concordia would end the game on an 8-2 run to pull away from Mercy and earn the win.

Mercy shot 41.6 percent (32-of-77) from the field, 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from long distance and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe. Concordia shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from downtown and 85.2 percent (23-of-27) from the foul line.

Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks look to get back into the win column when they host University of Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference matchup on Saturday, January 20th at 2:00 p.m. at The College of Mount Saint Vincent.