WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 5, 2020) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 64-63 decision to ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks (4-16, 2-8 ECC) have dropped four games in a row, while the Firebirds (9-12, 4-5 ECC) sweep the season series by a combined three points.
Mercy was led by junior Dayvon Cuffey (Baltimore, Md./Anne Arundel CC) who had a season-high 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting with six rebounds. Freshman Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) had 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting with five rebounds and redshirt junior Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) had 13 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Lamont Williams Jr. (Irvington, N.J./County College of Morris) had seven points and four assists and sophomore Dondre Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./South Atlanta) had six points and a career-high nine assists. Sophomore Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity Pawling) ended the night with five points.
UDC was led by Zachary Olukanni who had a game-high-tying 17 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 9-4 lead at the 13:26 mark of the first half after a Williams Jr. free throw. UDC went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-9 lead before the Mavericks ensued with a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 16-11.
The Mavericks later held a five-point lead, 19-14, after a Cuffey three with 9:12 left in the half. The hosts followed with an 8-0 run to take a 22-19 lead at the 7:42 mark. UDC later held a 25-22 lead before Mercy rattled off a 4-0 spurt to take a 26-25 lead with 5:08 remaining in the half. UDC tied the game up at 26-26 and the score would be tied for the eighth time in the half at 32-32 before Juanye Colon hit a three at the buzzer to give the Firebirds a 35-32 lead at halftime.
The Firebirds started the second half on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 41-32, with 17:38 left. UDC later held a nine-point lead, 43-34, at the 17:04 mark before the Mavericks battled back with a 12-0 run, capped off by a Cuffey layup, to take a 46-43 lead with 13:40 remaining.
Mercy held a three-point lead, 53-50, at the 10:25 mark following a pair of Griffin free throws. UDC went on a 9-2 run to retake the lead at 59-55 with 5:39 on the clock. The Mavericks answered back with an 8-2 spurt, finished off by three Williams Jr. free throws, to take the lead back at 63-61 with 2:57 left. Aaren Smith followed on the next UDC possession with a three to put the Firebirds back up, 64-63, with 2:38 on the clock. Mercy had chances to retake the lead but could not connect and a late turnover gave the Firebirds the win.
Mercy shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from downtown and 88.2 percent (15-for-17) from the foul line. UDC shot 35.3 percent (24-for-68) from the field, 28.6 percent (6-for-21) from beyond the arc and 100.0 percent (10-for-10) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 42-34 edge in rebounds.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 8th when they host New York Tech at 2 p.m.
