STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2022) – Powered by the game-winning basket with 10 seconds left from graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven) and a game-high 20 points from senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC), the Mercy College men's basketball team overcame an 18-point first-half deficit to earn a 69-67 win over College of Staten Island in their ECC opener on Wednesday night at the Sports & Recreation Center.

The Mavericks (2-4, 1-0 ECC) have won two of their last three games and win their ECC opener for the first time since 2017. The Dolphins (1-5, 0-1 ECC) have dropped two games in a row.

Taylor Jr. added seven rebounds and a game-high-tying five assists. Smith Jr. had 13 points and six rebounds and junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) recorded nine points and four rebounds. Freshman Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) netted eight points and graduate student Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) produced six points and six rebounds. Junior Damani Scott (Mansfield, Mass./Quincy College) scored six points and senior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) contributed five points.

Staten Island was led by James Chestnut who had a team-high 14 points.

Mercy held an 8-6 lead after a Lee jumper at the 17:38 mark of the first half. The Dolphins answered with a 30-10 run to take their largest lead of the game, 36-18, with 5:46 left in the opening half.

Conroy recorded a three and Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) drained a layup which would start an 11-0 run to finish off the half, cutting the Staten Island lead to seven, 36-29, at halftime.

A three-point play from Messiah Mallory to open the second half once again increased the Dolphin lead to double digits at 39-29. Smith Jr. followed with a jumper to cut the deficit to eight, but a three-point play from Chestnut made it 42-31 in favor of the hosts with 18:41 left.

A Chris Velasquez jumper at the 16:59 mark gave the Dolphins a 44-33 lead. Back-to-back threes from Joe and Smith Jr. got Mercy to within five, 44-39. A Lee layup made it 48-43 before the hosts scored the next eight points to build the lead to 13, 56-43, with 10:53 remaining.

The Dolphins later held a 12-point lead, 58-46, with 8:35 left to play. Staten Island looked to have the game in hand, but the Mavericks had other ideas and followed with a 19-5 run to take their first lead since the first half at 65-63 after a Conroy trifecta with 3:25 on the clock. The Dolphins scored four points in a row to retake the lead at 67-65 with two minutes left.

Following a timeout, Taylor Jr. forced a turnover and tied the game at 67-67 after a layup with 1:07 on the clock. Mercy's defense would survive two shot attempts by the Dolphins and had the ball with 27 seconds left. Smith Jr. would bank in the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds left to give the Mavericks a 69-67 lead. After timeouts by both teams, Velasquez drew a foul and had a chance to tie the game, but missed both and Conroy came away with the rebound to give the Mavericks the comeback win.

Mercy shot 34.8 percent (23-of-66) from the floor, 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from downtown and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line. Staten Island shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from beyond the arc and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the charity stripe. Staten Island held a 42-33 edge on the glass. Mercy held a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, December 3rd when they host UDC at 2 p.m.