Men's Basketball 2/16/2021 4:49:00 PM

Game Preview: Men's Basketball Hosts No. 10/16 St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 16, 2021) – The Mercy College men's basketball team resumes action on Wednesday, February 17th when they host No. 10/16 St. Thomas Aquinas College at 5 p.m.

Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 17th 5 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-3, 1-3 ECC), No. 10/16 St. Thomas Aquinas (6-0, 5-0 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
No spectators permitted due to COVID-19

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy was picked to finish 5th in the ECC Preseason Poll released in January.
Mercy is looking to defeat the Spartans for the first time since February 13, 2013.
Mercy looks to snap a 16-game losing streak to the Spartans.
The Mavericks look to win back-to-back ECC games for the first time since February 2019.
The last time Mercy won back-to-back home ECC games was in February of 2016.
Mercy last defeated STAC at home on January 21, 2012.
Freshman Kerwin Prince was named ECC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week earlier this week after averaging 17.3 points and a team-high 11.0 rebounds per game. The freshman is a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week and is currently averaging 20.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game on the year on 57.4 percent shooting.
Also contributing is junior James Taylor Jr. who was named to the ECC Honor Roll this week after posting 17.7 points per game in three games. The junior is currently averaging 15.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the year. Sophomores Brandon Wilson and Garrett Kirkland also average double figures with 11.3 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
The Mavericks win over Molloy on Sunday was their first over the Lions since 2018 and the 26-point margin of victory was Mercy's largest over Molloy since 2005.
Mercy is currently ranked No. 15 nationally in fewest fouls (77) and is No. 20 in fewest turnovers (75). The Mavericks are also currently ranked No. 22 in turnovers forced per game (16.00), No. 29 in offensive rebounds per game (12.50), No. 21 in defensive rebounds per game (28.0), No. 18 in rebounds per game (40.5), No. 26 in scoring offense (82.0) and No. 23 in blocks per game (3.8).
Prince is currently ranked No. 10 nationally in rebounds per game (10.8), No. 11 in steals per game (2.5) and No. 10 in offensive rebounds per game (4.0).

Scouting the Spartans

St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked No. 10 in the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 16 in the NABC Coaches Poll.
The Spartans were picked first in the ECC Preseason Coaches Poll.
St. Thomas Aquinas is looking to win their fifth ECC Championship in six seasons and have made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Spartans are currently 6-0 overall on the year and 5-0 in ECC play. They just completed a stretch of three road wins in three days, concluding the stretch with two close wins over Roberts Wesleyan.
In their last game on Sunday, the Spartans defeated Roberts Wesleyan 90-85 in overtime. Demetre Roberts had 24 points and Osbel Caraballo had 17 points.
The Spartans are led on the season by junior Grant Singleton who is averaging a team-high 19.5 points per game on 57.5 percent shooting. He is a one-time ECC Player of the Week.
Also contributing is Roberts who is posting 16.0 points per game with 4.8 assists per game. He was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 18.3 points per game in four games.
Caraballo is averaging 14.8 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. He recorded his 1,000th career point at Saint Rose on Friday and was named to the ECC Honor Roll this week after recording 16.3 points per game last week for the Spartans.
The Spartans are currently ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (95.0), No. 5 in steals per game (10.5), No. 3 in three-pointers per game (11.8), No. 4 in 3FG percentage (43.9), No. 3 in turnovers forced per game (19.83) and No. 5 in assists per game (18.5).