DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 23, 2019) – Led by a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds from redshirt junior Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional), the Mercy College men's basketball team earned a 64-60 victory over Georgian Court University on Saturday afternoon at Victory Hall Sports Center.
The Mavericks (1-5) snap a five-game losing streak and pick up their first win, while the Lions (0-4) remain winless on the year.
Griffin went 7-of-12 from the floor and junior Nakeem Hamilton (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC) had 11 points and seven rebounds. Junior Dayvon Cuffey (Baltimore, Md./Anne Arundel CC) had eight points and four rebounds and freshmen Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) and Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) also had eight points.
Georgian Court was led by Alonzo Ortiz-Traylor who had a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
The visitors scored the game's first five points, but Mercy answered back with six straight points of their own to take a 6-5 lead at the 15:42 mark of the first half. A Kirkland three with 11:16 on the clock tied the game up at 11-11 before Georgian Court went on a 10-0 run to take a 21-11 lead with 6:27 left before halftime.
Mercy responded with eight straight points to get within two, 21-19, with 4:08 remaining before halftime. The Lions put the lead back to five, but a Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) three and two free throws tied the game up at 24-24 with 1:46 left in the half. Georgian Court then scored five straight points to make it 29-24 and headed into halftime with a 29-26 lead.
The Mavericks opened the second half by taking a 37-36 lead following a Griffin jumper at the 15:13 mark. The visitors came back on a 14-4 run to take their largest lead of the half, 50-41, with 9:54 remaining. The Lions held a 52-43 lead with 8:31 left to play and looked to have the game in hand. However, the Mavericks ensued with a 17-0 run, capped off by a pair of Griffin free throws, which gave the lead back to Mercy at 60-52 with 4:12 left.
Georgian Court continued to battle and scored six straight points to make it 60-58 with 1:52 left. A Hamilton layup put Mercy back up four, 62-58, with 1:27 left. Ortiz-Traylor then drew a foul on the next Lion possession and made both free throws to get within two, 62-60, with 1:08 on the clock. After a missed layup by the Mavericks gave Georgian Court hope, an offensive foul by the Lions gave the ball back to Mercy with ten seconds left. Hamilton drew a foul and sank both free throws to put the Mavericks back up four, 64-60, with nine seconds on the clock. Time ran out on the Lions giving Mercy their first win of the season.
Mercy shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from downtown and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the foul line. Georgian Court shot 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field, 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, November 26th when they host Concordia at 7 p.m.
