NYACK, N.Y. (Feb. 8, 2018) – Despite a game-high-tying 19 points from junior Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 78-64 decision to ECC foe RV St. Thomas Aquinas College on Thursday evening at Nyack College.

The Mavericks (9-15, 5-9 ECC) have dropped two games in a row and remain a half game in front of Molloy and Queens for the sixth and final ECC Tournament spot, while the Spartans (21-5, 12-2 ECC) remain in second place in the ECC standings.

Richards led the Mavericks in points while also adding five rebounds and one block. Freshman Matthew Alectus (Hollywood, Fla. / Hallandale) added nine points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y. / Felician University) chipped in eight points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

James Mitchell led the Spartans with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Shaquille McFarlan also added 19 points while chipping in three rebounds. Justin Reyes ended the night recording the lone double-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and one block.

The Mavericks got off to a slow start in the first half, allowing the Spartans to score a total of nine unanswered points in the first five minutes of action. Richards broke the offensive silence when he hit a jumper at the 14:21 mark to put Mercy on the board. The scoring remained back and forth until the Mavericks were able to score seven unanswered points, tying the game 13-13 with 11:04 left on the clock. Two back-to-back three point shots from Alectus would put the Mavericks in the lead, improving the score to 26-21 with 3:15 on the clock. The Spartans would continue to battle for the lead over the Mavericks, but could not overcome the deficit and entered halftime trailing the Mavericks 36-28.

Kelvin Howard wasted no time getting on the board for the Mavericks at the start of the second half, hitting a three point shot to increase the Mavericks lead to 39-28. The Spartans responded with five unanswered points, but a dunk from senior Brendon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City CC) would allow the Mavericks offense to increase their now 41-33 lead with 17:30 on the clock. The Spartans were not done however, as they were able to score ten unanswered points to put them in the 43-42 lead with 13:56 left to play in the game. The game remained a back and forth battle for the next five minutes of play until the Spartans were able to go on another six point run, earning a 58-49 lead. The Mavericks continued to fight, but could not regain their lead, eventually falling 78-64 to the Spartans.

Mercy shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the floor, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from downtown and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from the foul line. The Spartans shot 50.0 percent (33-of-66) from the field, 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the charity stripe.

Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 10th when they travel to University of the District of Columbia for an East Coast Conference matchup at 1 p.m.