DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2022) – Despite a team-high 18 points from junior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a 76-59 decision to ECC foe Daemen College on Sunday afternoon at Victory Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (2-14, 2-7 ECC) have dropped two games in a row, while the Wildcats (12-6, 9-0 ECC) remain unbeaten in ECC play.
Kirkland had 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown and had two rebounds and two assists. Junior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had 17 points and four assists and junior Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) netted 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Sophomore Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) contributed six points and a team-high six rebounds.
Daemen was led by Andrew Sischo who had a game-high 33 points and 13 rebounds.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-0 lead at the 17:20 mark of the first half and later held a 16-2 lead with 16:08 on the clock. The Mavericks responded with a 21-6 run, capped off by a Wilson jumper, to take a 23-22 lead with 8:30 left in the half.
Daemen came right back on a 10-0 run to take the lead back and increase it to nine, 32-23, with 4:38 on the clock. Mercy ensued with a 12-0 run, capped off by an Elijah Mitchell (Edison, N.J./Monroe College) dunk, to take a 35-32 lead with 55 seconds left. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 37-36 lead.
The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half to take a 40-37 lead. Taylor Jr. drained a three at the 15:41 mark to tie the game at 40-40. Another Taylor Jr. trifecta with 15:02 left gave Mercy a 43-42 lead. Daemen scored the next four points to take a 46-43 lead with 13:36 left. A Taylor Jr. free throw got Mercy back to within two, 48-46, at the 12:29 mark.
Daemen went on to score the next nine points to increase the lead to 11, 57-46, with 10 minutes remaining. A Wilson layup cut the deficit to single digits, but the Wildcats followed with a 7-3 spurt to increase the lead to 13, 64-51, with 4:53 to play.
A three from Kirkland later made it 68-59 with three minutes left, but the Wildcats ended the game on an 8-0 run to secure the win.
Mercy shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor, 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from downtown and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the foul line. Daemen shot 58.0 percent (29-of-50) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 40-21 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 26th when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 8 p.m.
