DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 10, 2019) – Despite a double-double from redshirt junior Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 74-68 decision to Nyack College on Tuesday night at the Victory Hall Sports Center.
The Mavericks (1-8) have dropped three games in a row, while the Warriors (6-5) move over .500 on the year.
Griffin had 17 points with a career-high 26 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Junior Nakeem Hamilton (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC) had a game-high 19 points with five rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting. Sophomore Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) had nine points and five assists and senior Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) had eight points.
Nyack was led by Junior Graham who had a team-high 12 points and eight rebounds.
The score was tied at 6-6 following a Griffin layup at the 15:43 mark. Nyack responded with a 14-0 run to take a 20-6 lead with 11:23 remaining in the first half. The Warriors later increased the lead to 15, 22-7, with 10:08 on the clock.
Nyack held a 27-15 lead with 5:24 remaining in the opening half before Mercy went on a 6-1 run to make it a seven-point game, 28-21, with 2:24 left before halftime. The Warriors closed the half on a 7-1 run to head into halftime up, 35-22.
Mercy stormed out of the locker room on a 6-0 run to make it 35-28 just over three minutes into the second half. Nyack followed with five straight points to put the lead back to 12, 40-28, at the 15:41 mark. The Mavericks quickly answered with an 11-0 run, capped off by a Barnes three, which got Mercy to within one, 40-39, forcing a Nyack timeout with 13:43 remaining.
After the timeout, Nyack scored five straight points to take a 44-39 lead, but the Mavericks scored five straight of their own to make it 44-44 with 11:12 left. The Warriors came back on a 10-3 run to retake the lead at 54-47 with eight minutes left to play. Mercy cut the deficit to five, 59-54, after a Hamilton layup, but the Warriors scored five straight points to take a 64-54 lead with 3:36 remaining.
The Mavericks had one last run in them and went on an 8-0 run to get within two, 64-62, with 1:37 left in the game. The next Nyack possession saw Thomas Nolan hit a three after a timeout to put the Warriors back up five, 67-62, with 1:16 left. Mercy missed two scoring opportunities their next possession and Jayden Dawson came down on the other end with a dunk to put the Nyack lead to seven, 69-62, with 44 seconds left. Mercy could get no closer than five points, giving Nyack the victory.
Mercy shot 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from downtown and 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the foul line. Nyack shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field, 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 45-42 edge on the glass and a 16-6 edge in second chance points. Nyack held a 19-8 edge in points off turnovers after forcing 17 Mercy turnovers.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, December 13th when they host Daemen at 7 p.m.
