DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Nov. 29, 2022) – The Mercy College men's basketball team plays at College of Staten Island in their ECC opener on Wednesday, November 30th at 7:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 30th 7:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-4, 0-0 ECC), Staten Island (1-4, 0-0 ECC)
Location: Staten Island, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Staten Island
Mercy earned a 71-64 win over Staten Island on February 23, 2022.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 91-74 loss to Caldwell on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. who had a team-high 17 points and by seniors James Taylor Jr. and Garrett Kirkland who each had nine points. Junior Jayden Dewaal was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Sean Conroy was tabbed Rookie of the Week on Monday. Mercy picked up their first win over Bridgeport since 2013 last Tuesday and the Mavericks also won their home opener for the first time since 2017. The win over Bridgeport gave Interim Head Coach Chris Watts his first win as a collegiate head coach. Mercy looks to win their ECC opener for the first time since 2017. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Smith Jr. who averages a team-high 12.2 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting. He also averages 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Taylor Jr. averages 12.0 points per game with 1.6 assists per game. Dewaal is fourth on the team averaging 8.6 points and posts a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 7.8 points per game and senior Brandon Wilson nets 9.2 points per game. Kirkland is averaging 7.4 points per game and Conroy is posting 6.8 points per game on 40.0 percent shooting from downtown. Mercy was selected eighth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 6-19 overall last season and 6-12 in ECC play. The Mavericks just missed out on qualifying for the ECC Championship and are looking to make the Championship for the first time since 2021. Mercy has not qualified for the ECC Championship without every team making it since 2016. The Mavericks will be led by Watts who returns eight student-athletes from last year's team. Leading the returners is Taylor Jr. who averaged a team-high 13.3 points per game and Wilson who posted 11.2 points per game. Dewaal netted 9.7 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game last season and Kirkland also returns after averaging 10.1 points per game in 2021-22. Watts will also look to graduate transfer Smith Jr. who had 11 points in the Mavericks exhibition contest against Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. Conroy had five points against Fairleigh Dickinson and Joe will also see action after posting three points and three assists in the exhibition.
Scouting the Dolphins
Staten Island is coming off a 60-56 loss to Pace on Sunday. The Dolphins were picked sixth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 7-19 overall and 6-12 in ECC play last season. Staten Island is led by Messiah Mallory who averages 15.6 points per game with a team-high 8.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Bryce Waterman averages a team-high 15.8 points per game and Luis Armas is third on the team with 14.6 points per game. Chris Velasquez nets 10.0 points per game and James Chestnut dishes out a team-high 5.2 assists per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Saturday, December 3rd when they host UDC at 2 p.m.
