ORANGEBURG, N.Y. (Nov. 20, 2021) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 69-64 decision to RV Dominican College on Saturday night at the Hennessy Center.
The Mavericks (0-2) have dropped two straight to open the season, while the Chargers (3-0) have opened their season with three straight wins.
Sophomore Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) had a game-high-tying 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior Elijah Mitchell (Edison, N.J./Monroe College) also had a game-high-tying 16 points with seven rebounds and junior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had 10 points.
Dominican was led by Jalen Burgess who had a game-high-tying 16 points.
The Chargers opened the game with a 12-3 lead, leading to a Mercy timeout with 16:05 on the clock. The Mavericks later cut the deficit to four, 14-10, following a Dewaal three-point play with 14:11 left. Dominican ensued with a 9-2 run to increase the lead to double-digits, 23-12, with 10 minutes left in the half.
The Mavericks cut the deficit to seven, 27-20, following a Taylor Jr. jumper with 6:17 on the clock. The hosts followed with six straight points to take a 13-point lead, 33-20, with five minutes remaining in the half. A Mitchell three at the buzzer cut the Chargers lead to nine, 41-32, heading into halftime.
Dominican increased the lead back to 13, 48-35, with 17:33 left to play. The Chargers later held a 58-46 advantage with 9:59 remaining and looked to have the game in hand. However, the Mavericks continued to battle and went on a 16-7 run, capped off by a Dewaal jumper, to get within three, 65-62, with 3:24 left.
The Mavericks had two chances to get closer, but a turnover and offensive foul gave Dominican the ball with 2:30 on the clock. Justin Copman drew a foul for the Chargers with 2:11 on the clock and went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 66-62. Dewaal followed with a jumper to get Mercy within two, 66-64, with just under two minutes left. The Mavericks would be unable to get any closer and the Chargers scored the final three points of the game at the foul line to earn the win.
Mercy shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from downtown and 50.0 percent (8-for-16) from the foul line. Dominican shot 33.3 percent (21-for-63) from the floor, 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from beyond the arc and 71.0 percent (22-for-31) from the foul line. Mercy held a 43-39 edge on the glass and a 39-28 edge in points in the paint.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they face Caldwell at 3 p.m. at Dominican College.
