RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Nov. 12, 2018) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision to Felician University in their 2018-19 season opener on Monday night at Job Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (0-1) drop their season opener, while the Golden Falcons (1-0) win their season opener.
Redshirt sophomore Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) had a career-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and senior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) had 16 points and five rebounds. Graduate student Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Freeport, N.Y./Merrimack College) had 12 points and freshman Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) poured in 11 points in his debut. Sophomore Matthew Alectus (Hollywood, Fla./Hallandale) rounded out five Mavericks scoring in double figures with a double-double by way of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Felician was led by Aziz Parker who had a team-high 17 points.
The hosts scored the first points of the game, but Mercy responded with a 10-2 run to take a 10-4 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half following a Griffin dunk. The Mavericks later held a 17-11 lead with 12:46 remaining in the half before the Golden Falcons responded with a 9-0 run to take a 20-17 lead with 11:10 left before halftime.
Mercy regrouped and ensued with a 9-0 run of their own, capped off by an Alectus three, that gave them a 26-20 advantage with 8:42 on the clock. Felician battled their way back and tied the score up at 31-31 at the 4:09 mark. The hosts retook the lead at 33-31, but the Mavericks struck right back with a 9-2 run, finished off by a Barnes trifecta, that put Mercy ahead 40-35 with 1:16 remaining. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 42-40 lead after a pair of late free throws by the Golden Falcons.
The Mavericks came out of the locker rooms on fire, scoring the first ten points of the half to take their largest lead of the game, 52-40, with 15:30 left to play. Following another Griffin dunk, Mercy held a 54-42 advantage, but Felician responded with a 16-1 run over five minutes to take a 58-55 lead with 10:15 remaining.
Mercy continued to battle and retook the lead at 62-61 following a Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity Pawling) layup with 7:12 on the clock. However, the Golden Falcons came right back with an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 72-62, with 2:58 left.
The Mavericks cut the deficit to two, 77-75, with 15 seconds left on an Anderson three. Mercy was forced to foul and Zamir Wright went 1-of-2 from the line to make it 78-75 with 13 seconds on the clock. Senior Daquon Ervin (Brooklyn, N.Y./UMBC) then went 1-of-2 from the line after a Felician foul to bring the score to 78-76 with eight seconds showing on the clock. A dunk by Dee-End McRae on the other end gave the Golden Falcons a four-point lead and time would run out on the Mavericks, giving Felician the victory.
Mercy shot 34.3 percent (24-of-70) from the floor, 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from downtown and 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the foul line. Felician shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field, 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from beyond the arc and 73.5 percent (25-of-34) from the charity stripe. Felician held a 47-41 edge on the glass, but Mercy held a 17-7 advantage in second chance points.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, November 14th when they play at Concordia at 7 p.m.
