DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 15, 2019) – Powered by four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned an 82-74 win over ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan College on Sunday afternoon in a CODA Awareness Game at Victory Hall Sports Center.
The Mavericks (2-9, 1-2 ECC) snap a four-game losing streak with the win, while the Redhawks (2-9, 0-3 ECC) remain winless in ECC play.
Freshman Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) led the way with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting overall and 4-of-9 shooting from downtown. Sophomore Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) had a career-high 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six assists. Junior Nakeem Hamilton (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC) had a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds and junior Dayvon Cuffey (Baltimore, Md./Anne Arundel CC) finished with ten points and seven rebounds. Junior Amadou Camara (Harlem, N.Y./Monroe College) ended the day with a season-high nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Shane Fanning who had a game-high 24 points.
The Redhawks scored the game's first seven points and held a 15-8 lead at the 13:58 mark of the first half. Mercy responded with a 9-0 run, capped off by a Hamilton three-point play, which gave the Mavericks a 17-15 lead with 11:45 left in the first half.
Roberts Wesleyan answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead back at 22-17 with 8:40 on the clock. The visitors held a 27-22 lead with 4:31 remaining in the first half, but the Mavericks followed with an 11-0 run, finished off by a Barnes layup, that gave Mercy a 33-27 lead. An Armon Nasseri layup cut the Mercy lead to two, 33-31, but a jumper from Kirkland gave the Mavericks a 35-31 lead at halftime.
The guests opened the second half on a 9-4 run to take a 40-39 lead with 16:41 remaining. Mercy continued to battle and went on a 9-0 run, finished off by a Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) three, which put the Mavericks up 48-40 with 14:33 left to play. The Redhawks ensued with an 11-4 run to cut the Mercy lead to one, 52-51, with 10:22 on the clock.
Mercy put together another run this time going on a 7-0 run to increase the lead back to eight, 59-51, at the 7:45 mark. Roberts Wesleyan cut the deficit to three, 63-60, with 5:08 remaining but the Mavericks quickly answered with five straight points to take a 68-60 lead with just over four minutes left.
The Mavericks held a 75-67 lead with 1:40 remaining before the Redhawks went on a 7-2 spurt to make it a three-point game, 77-74, with 43 seconds left. Hamilton came down on the next Mercy possession and drained a jumper with the shot clock about to expire to put the Mavericks up five, 79-74, with ten seconds left. Mercy held the Redhawks off the scoreboard and went 3-of-4 from the foul line to secure the win.
Mercy shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the floor, 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from downtown and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the foul line. Roberts Wesleyan shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the arc and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the charity stripe. Roberts Wesleyan held a 40-33 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, December 21st when they host Notre Dame (Ohio) at 2 p.m.
