SPARKILL, N.Y. (Feb. 1, 2020) – Despite a combined 60 points from redshirt junior Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) and senior Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 95-80 decision to ECC foe No. 17/20 St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall Gym.

The Mavericks (4-15, 2-7 ECC) have dropped three games in a row, while the Spartans (18-3, 8-1 ECC) sweep the season series with Mercy.

Griffin had a career-high 34 points on 12-for-18 shooting with a game-high 18 rebounds. Williams Jr. added a career-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting overall and 6-for-8 shooting from downtown with four assists. Freshman Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) and sophomore Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) both scored five points.

St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Osbel Caraballo who had a team-high 27 points.

The Spartans held an early 5-2 lead at the 18:48 mark before the Mavericks answered with a 13-3 run to take a 15-8 lead with 15:23 left in the first half. The hosts cut the deficit to three, 15-12, before Williams Jr. drained a three to put the lead back to six, 18-12, with 14:11 on the clock.

Mercy later held a six-point lead, 27-21, following another Williams Jr. three with just over ten minutes remaining in the half. St. Thomas Aquinas answered with an 18-7 run to retake the lead at 39-34 with 3:52 left before halftime. Williams Jr. nailed another three to get the Mavericks back within two, 39-37, before Grant Singleton scored to make it 41-37. Mercy trailed 43-39 following a Caraballo jumper at the 1:39 mark before a Griffin jumper and Barnes free throw got the Mavericks to within one, 43-42, with 15 seconds left. A Sekou Cisse jumper right before the buzzer gave the hosts a 45-42 lead at halftime.

The Spartans started the second half on a 12-5 run to take a 57-47 lead at the 16:39 mark. Mercy continued to battle and ensued with a 10-0 run, capped off by a Griffin jumper, to tie the score at 57-57. St. Thomas Aquinas answered with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 67-59 lead with 11:19 remaining.

A Griffin three-point play with 7:52 on the clock got the Mavericks to within four, 74-70. However, the hosts rallied back with an 8-0 run to build an 82-70 lead with 6:30 left. Mercy cut the deficit to ten on three separate occasions but could not get closer as the Spartans came away with the win.

Mercy shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the floor, 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from downtown and 63.6 percent (14-for-22) from the foul line. St. Thomas Aquinas shot 52.8 percent (38-for-72) from the field, 35.0 percent (7-for-20) from beyond the arc and 63.2 percent (12-for-19) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 36-34 edge on the glass and St. Thomas Aquinas used 25 Maverick turnovers to hold a 25-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 5th when they play at District of Columbia at 7 p.m.