ORANGEBURG, N.Y. (Nov. 21, 2021) – Despite a team-high 11 points from junior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) and sophomore Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 72-51 decision to Caldwell University on Sunday afternoon at the Hennessy Center.
The Mavericks (0-3) have dropped three straight games, while the Cougars (3-1) have won three games in a row.
Kirkland made three three-pointers and May went 4-for-8 from the floor. Junior Elijah Mitchell (Edison, N.J./Monroe College) had nine points and six rebounds and junior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had eight points. Sophomore Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) had four points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Caldwell was led by Anthony Cooper who had a game-high 20 points.
The score was tied at 7-7 before Mercy went on a 7-1 run, capped off by a May layup, to take a 14-8 lead with 11 minutes left in the half. Caldwell followed with four straight points to make it 14-12, but the Mavericks countered with four straight points of their own to build the lead back to six, 18-12, with nine minutes remaining in the half.
Caldwell answered with a Jaylen Davis jumper to make it 18-14. Mercy ensued with a 6-0 run, finished off by a Kirkland three, to take their largest lead of the game 24-14 with 5:21 on the clock. The Mavericks later held a 25-16 lead after a May free throw with 4:21 left. Caldwell closed the half on an 8-0 run to cut Mercy's lead to one, 25-24, at halftime.
The Cougars opened the second half on a 4-0 spurt to take a 28-25 lead. A three from Taylor Jr. later cut the Caldwell lead to one, 31-30, with 16:59 remaining. Caldwell responded back with a 15-2 run to take a 46-32 lead with 12:31 left to play. Mercy came back on a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to 11, 47-36, after a Mitchell layup with 11:23 on the clock.
Caldwell scored the next five points to take a 52-36 lead with just under 10 minutes to play. Mercy continued to battle and cut the deficit to 10 twice with the last time coming at 61-51 following a pair of Kirkland free throws with 3:04 on the clock. Caldwell ended the game on an 11-0 run to pull away for the win.
Mercy shot 31.4 percent (16-for-51) from the floor, 33.3 percent (7-for-21) from downtown and 75.0 percent (12-for-16) from the foul line. Caldwell shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (9-for-15) from the charity stripe. Caldwell held a 35-33 edge on the glass and used 26 Mercy turnovers to hold a 31-11 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, November 24th when they play at Georgian Court at 4 p.m.
