NYACK, N.Y. (Nov. 28, 2018) – Powered by four different Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team overcame a 17-point deficit to earn a 68-65 victory over Nyack College on Wednesday night at Bowman Gym.
The Mavericks (2-4) have won two of their last three games, while the Warriors (0-6) remain winless on the year.
Redshirt freshman Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) led the way with a double-double by way of 13 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Amir Atkins (Alexandria, Va./Hagerstown CC) poured in 13 points and senior Daquon Ervin (Brooklyn, N.Y./UMBC) finished with 12 points and seven assists. Senior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) recorded 11 points, five rebounds and three assists and graduate student Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Freeport, N.Y./Merrimack College) contributed nine points and six rebounds. Sophomore Matthew Alectus (Hollywood, Fla./Hallandale) produced eight points and four rebounds.
Nyack was led by Joel Bailey who had a game-high-tying 13 points.
The Warriors scored the game's first four points and built the lead to five, 7-2, with 17:46 remaining in the opening half. Mercy cut the deficit to one, 7-6, following a Griffin jumper, but Nyack followed with a 19-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 26-9, with 10:35 left to play in the first half.
The Mavericks battled back and made it a nine-point game, 27-18, after two free throws from Ervin. Nyack increased the lead back to 11, 31-20, with 5:58 left in the half before Mercy stormed back on a 14-4 run to make it 35-34 following a Barbetto three with 1:17 left. A Kennith Ford layup gave the hosts a 37-34 lead at halftime.
Nyack started the second half by increasing their lead to five, 43-38, with 16:56 left in the game. Mercy responded with a 7-0 spurt, capped off by an Alectus three, that gave the Mavericks a 45-43 lead. Mercy built the lead to three, 47-44, on a Griffin dunk before Jordan Rodriguez came down and drained a three to tie the game up at 47-47 with 14:28 remaining.
The Mavericks fought back with an 11-4 run, finished off by an Atkins three, that gave Mercy a 58-51 advantage with 8:23 left. Nyack made it a three-point game, 58-55, after a Shawn Witherspoon layup with 6:38 on the clock, but an Atkins layup at the 4:16 mark gave Mercy a seven-point lead, 65-58, with just over four minutes left.
Nyack closed the gap to three, 65-62, with 2:50 on the clock, but on the next Mercy possession Atkins nailed another trifecta to put the Mavericks back up six, 68-62. Mercy's defense would allow three unanswered points to close out the game, but the Warriors could not get any closer to give the Mavericks the road win.
Mercy shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor, 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from downtown and 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from the foul line. Nyack shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from beyond the arc and 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from the charity stripe. Nyack held a 44-41 edge on the boards.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, December 5th when they host St. Thomas Aquinas at 7 p.m.
