DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 2020) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 76-74 setback in overtime to ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at Victory Hall Sports Center.

The Mavericks (3-12, 1-4 ECC) have dropped three games in a row, while the Firebirds (7-9, 2-2 ECC) have won two games in a row.

Mercy was led by redshirt junior Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) who had a double-double by way of 18 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting with three blocks. Junior Nakeem Hamilton (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC) had 15 points with a team-high three assists. Freshman Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) recorded 14 points and freshman Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) netted eight points and seven rebounds.

UDC was paced by Juanye Colon who had a game-high 20 points.

The Firebirds held a 6-4 lead at the 17:08 mark of the first half before Mercy went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-6 lead with 15:48 left in the opening half. UDC cut the deficit to one, 14-13, with 14:16 on the clock before the Mavericks rattled off an 8-0 run, capped off by a Griffin dunk, to take a 22-13 lead.

Mercy increased the lead to ten, 28-18, at the 7:03 mark after a Griffin layup. A Zachary Olukanni layup on the next possession made it an eight-point game, 28-20. However, the Mavericks went on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 34-20, with 4:02 left in the first half. UDC closed the half on a 9-0 run to head into halftime down just five, 34-29.

A Dayvon Cuffey (Baltimore, Md./Anne Arundel CC) layup opened the second half for Mercy to put the lead back to seven, 36-29. The Firebirds stormed back on a 14-5 run to take a 43-41 lead with 15:09 left in regulation. Mercy regained the lead at 47-45 following a Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) layup, but the guests came back on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 51-47, with 10:36 on the clock.

UDC later held a four-point lead, 57-53, with 4:21 on the clock. Mercy went on a 6-2 run to tie the game up at 59-59 with 2:30 left in regulation. A Colon jumper made it 61-59 before Cuffey made a layup on the next Mercy possession to tie the game up at 61-61. Aaren Smith drained a three on the next Firebird possession to give the visitors a 64-61 lead with 1:31 on the clock.

The teams traded empty possessions giving the ball to Mercy with 21 seconds left after a Maverick timeout. Following the timeout, Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) tied the game up with a three-pointer with a defender in his face with eight seconds left in regulation. Mercy's defense held the Firebirds off the scoreboard in the final eight seconds to send the game into overtime.

UDC scored the first three points of overtime to take a 67-64 lead. Hamilton answered with a three to tie the game up at 67-67 at the 3:43 mark. A Consolo Adams layup gave the lead back to the Firebirds before Hamilton stepped up and drained another three to give Mercy a 70-69 lead. UDC responded with four straight points to retake the lead at 73-70 with 1:27 on the clock. Back-to-back layups from Hamilton put Mercy back in front, 74-73, with 43 seconds left. Colon came down on the next Firebird possession and knocked down a three to give UDC a 76-74 lead with 32 seconds left. After both teams turned the ball over, Mercy had the ball with 15 seconds left in overtime looking to tie or take the lead. After a Maverick timeout, Hamilton drove to the basket but could not connect on a layup that would have tied the game. Mercy turned the ball over after the ensuing offensive rebound to give UDC the win in overtime.

Mercy shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from the floor, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from downtown and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the foul line. UDC shot 38.7 percent (29-of-75) from the field, 22.6 percent (7-of-31) from beyond the arc and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 49-45 edge in rebounds and a 33-14 edge in bench points.

Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 15th when they play at Queens at 7:30 p.m.