PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2022) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 74-65 decision to No. 23 Pace University on Wednesday night at the Goldstein Athletics Center.
The Mavericks (0-3) have dropped three games in a row, while the Setters (3-0) remain unbeaten on the year.
Graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven) had a team-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds and senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had 12 points. Senior Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) chipped in eight points and three assists. Freshman Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) netted seven points and junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Ontario/Trinidad State Junior College) had six points and six rebounds. Senior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) chipped in six points.
Pace was led by Lyron Bennett who had a game-high 23 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 10-6 lead at the 13:45 mark of the first half after a Taylor Jr. layup. The Setters answered with a 12-0 run to take an 18-10 lead with 11 minutes left in the half. Pace later increased the lead to nine points, 22-13, with 9:08 on the clock.
Pace built the lead to 11, 36-25, with 1:57 left in the first half. Three straight points from Taylor Jr. cut the Setters lead to eight, 36-28, at halftime.
A Jabari Nurse free throw gave the hosts a 37-28 lead with 18:53 remaining. Mercy stormed back on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Joe three, to cut the deficit to two, 37-35, with 16:41 left, forcing a Pace timeout. Following the timeout, the Setters went on a 12-0 run to increase the lead to a game-high 14 points, 49-35, with 13:53 left.
The Setters later held a 51-37 lead with 12:34 remaining. Mercy continued to battle and ensued with a 28-9 run, capped off by back-to-back threes from Smith Jr., to take their largest lead of the game, 65-60, with 4:13 on the clock.
Following a Pace timeout, the Setters held the Mavericks scoreless for the final 4:13 of the game and ended the game on a 14-0 run to earn the 74-65 win.
Mercy shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the floor, 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from downtown and 100.0 percent (6-of-6) from the foul line. Pace shot 50.0 percent (28-of-56) from the field, 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the charity stripe. Pace held a 32-26 edge on the glass.
Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, November 22nd when they host Bridgeport at 7 p.m.
