OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2019) – Powered by three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to defeat ECC foe NYIT, 80-76, on Wednesday night at Recreation Hall.
The Mavericks (5-11, 3-5 ECC) snap a six-game losing streak, while the Bears (2-15, 2-6 ECC) fail to build off their win last time out.
Redshirt sophomore Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) led Mercy with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting. Freshman Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) poured in a career-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting and junior Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) had a season-high ten points. Sophomore Matthew Alectus (Hollywood, Fla./Hallandale) netted eight points and ten rebounds and senior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) had seven points.
NYIT was led by Zahir Porter who had a team-high 21 points.
Mercy scored the first points of the game on a Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Freeport, N.Y./Merrimack College) layup, but the Bears followed with a 29-10 run to take their largest lead of the game, 29-12, with 9:43 remaining in the half. The Mavericks made it a 14-point game, 26-12, on a Jefferson Francois (New York, N.Y./Hostos CC) layup, but the hosts increased the lead back to 17, 31-14, with 8:43 on the clock.
NYIT held a 39-23 lead with 5:33 left in the first half, but Mercy answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 39-30, with 3:24 remaining. The Bears put the lead to 13, 47-34, with 1:09 on the clock. However, the Mavericks ended the half on a 5-0 run, capped off by a Williams three-quarters court buzzer-beater that sent Mercy into halftime down, 47-39.
Mercy started the second half on a 13-7 run to make it a two-point game, 54-52, with 14:28 left to play. The Bears responded by putting the lead back to seven, 64-57, with 10:44 on the clock after a Marcus Saint-Furcy three. A pair of free throws from Williams at the 8:28 mark made it 66-64 in favor of the hosts, but NYIT went on an 8-2 run to take an eight-point lead, 74-66, with 6:35 remaining.
The Bears maintained a 76-69 lead with five minutes left and looked to be on the verge on a victory. However, Mercy had other ideas and would end the game on an 11-0 run to steal the win away from NYIT. An Andersorn layup tied the game up at 76-76 with 2:28 left following an Alectus steal and Barbetto gave the Mavericks the lead for good with his free throw at the 2:18 mark. Mercy's defense stood strong and did not surrender a point to the Bears in the final 5:25 of action.
Mercy shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor, 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from downtown and 69.7 percent (23-of-33) from the foul line. NYIT shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field, 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from beyond the arc and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 39-36 edge on the glass and a 27-14 advantage in fast break points.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, January 26th when they host LIU Post at 2 p.m.
