SPARKILL, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2019) – Despite a double-double from redshirt sophomore Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) and a season-high 20 points from senior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team led throughout before falling, 74-71, to ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday night at Aquinas Hall Gym.
The Mavericks (6-12, 4-6 ECC) see their two-game winning streak come to an end, while the Spartans (16-4, 8-2 ECC) snap a two-game losing streak with the win.
Griffin posted a game-high 22 points and seven blocks and had 12 rebounds. Barbetto added six assists and went 7-of-14 from the floor. Graduate student Tawayne Anderson Jr. (Freeport, N.Y./Merrimack College) recorded 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and junior Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) netted nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Kameron Murrell who had a team-high 15 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 17:33 mark following seven straight points from Barbetto. The Spartans answered back with a 12-2 run to take a 12-9 lead with 14:36 left in the first half. St. Thomas Aquinas later increased the lead to seven, 24-17, at the 9:10 mark of the opening stanza.
The Mavericks battled back in a hostile environment and went on a 22-8 run over the next seven minutes to retake the lead at 39-32 with 2:31 left in half. Mercy increased the lead to eight, 44-36, on a Griffin jumper before an Osbel Caraballo jumper before halftime sent the Mavericks into halftime up, 44-38, after shooting 58.6 percent in the half.
The Spartans scored the first points of the second half to make it a four-point game. However, Mercy rallied back with a 9-3 run, capped off by a Griffin layup, that put the Mavericks up ten, 53-43, with 15:19 remaining.
The hosts made it a four-point game, 57-53, with just over nine minutes left before a three from Barbetto and a layup from Williams increased the lead back to nine, 62-53, with eight minutes on the clock. St. Thomas Aquinas followed with a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 62-62 with 5:52 left. After the teams traded baskets, senior Amir Atkins (Alexandria, Va./Hagerstown CC) drained a three-pointer from the corner that put the Mavericks back in front, 67-64, with 4:46 remaining.
A Barbetto layup with 4:10 showing on the clock gave Mercy a 69-65 lead. The Spartans roared back on a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead, 72-69, with 22 seconds left. Griffin got the Mavericks to within one, 72-71, with six seconds remaining following a layup off an offensive rebound. Mercy was forced to foul and Murrell went 2-of-2 from the line to increase the St. Thomas Aquinas lead to 74-71 with five seconds left. After a pair of Spartan fouls, a Griffin three-point attempt at the buzzer would not fall and St. Thomas Aquinas emerged victorious.
Mercy shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the floor, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from the foul line. St. Thomas Aquinas shot 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the field, 40.0 percent (12-of-30) from downtown and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the charity stripe. The Spartans held a 43-30 edge on the boards and a 21-11 edge in second chance points.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 2nd when they host District of Columbia at 2 p.m.
