DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 22, 2022) – Powered by five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned an 82-77 win over University of Bridgeport in their home opener on Tuesday night at Victory Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (1-3) earn their first win of the season and earn the first win for Interim Head Coach Chris Watts. Mercy also defeats the regionally-ranked Purple Knights (3-1) for the first time since 2013.
Senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had a game-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven) had 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting with four assists and six rebounds. Junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Ontario/Trinidad State Junior College) added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting with five blocks. Senior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) had 11 points and senior Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) netted 12 points. Freshman Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) contributed six points and junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) chipped in five points.
Bridgeport was led by D'Andre Collins who had a team-high 18 points.
The score was tied at 6-6 after a Taylor Jr. layup with 17:52 left in the first half. Bridgeport answered with a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 18-8, with 13:31 left in the half.
The Purple Knights later held a 20-10 lead before Mercy answered with a 12-2 run, capped off by a Dewaal layup, to tie the score at 22-22 with nine minutes left in the half. Bridgeport later regained the lead and built it up to five, 32-27, with 4:44 remaining in the half.
A Wilson jumper at the 1:13 mark capped a 6-0 Mercy run to give the Mavericks a 33-32 lead. The teams traded baskets and Mercy headed into halftime with a 35-34 lead.
A Kirkland three at the 18:06 mark of the second half gave Mercy a 40-36 lead. Bridgeport scored the next six points to retake the lead at 42-40 with 17:24 left. Taylor Jr. later gave the Mavericks a three-point lead, 49-46, after a layup with 13:35 remaining in the game.
Bridgeport battled back and took a 60-55 lead with 6:54 remaining. The Purple Knights later held a 63-60 lead with 5:15 left before back-to-back threes from Kirkland and Conroy gave Mercy a 66-63 lead with 4:28 to play.
A Smith Jr. trifecta at the 3:12 mark gave Mercy a 73-69 lead. Bridgeport answered with four straight points to tie the game at 73-73 with two minutes left. The score was later tied at 77-77 before Dewaal drained a layup with 40 seconds left to give Mercy a 79-77 lead. After a defensive stand by the Mavericks, Wilson was fouled and went 2-of-2 from the line to put Mercy up four, 81-77, with 19 seconds remaining. The Mavericks once again came up with another defensive stand and Taylor Jr. went 1-of-2 from the line to give Mercy an 82-77 lead they would not surrender.
Mercy shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the floor, 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from downtown and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the foul line. Bridgeport shot 43.8 percent (32-of-73) from the field, 20.7 percent (6-of-29) from beyond the arc and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the foul line. Mercy held a 43-39 edge on the glass.
Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, November 27th when they play at Caldwell at 1 p.m.
