DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 11, 2022) – Despite a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds from graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped an 86-62 decision to ECC foe Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.

The Mavericks (2-8, 1-3 ECC) have dropped four games in a row, while the Wildcats (4-5, 1-3 ECC) pick up their first ECC win of the season and improve to 19-0 all-time against Mercy.

Smith Jr. went 7-of-13 from the floor and had seven rebounds. Senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) added 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting and junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) netted 11 points and five rebounds. Senior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) contributed six points and freshman Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) recorded five points.

Daemen was led by Andrew Mason who had a game-high 19 points.

Mercy jumped out to an 18-9 lead at the 12:56 mark of the first half after a Smith Jr. jumper. Justin Glover scored for the Wildcats to make it 18-11 before Dewaal gave the Mavericks a 20-11 lead with 11:26 left in the half.

The Mavericks later held a 24-18 lead at the 8:29 mark following a Dewaal layup. The Wildcats stormed back on an 8-0 run to take a 26-24 lead with 7:22 left in the half. Mercy later regained the lead following a Smith Jr. free throw that made it 30-29 with 5:11 on the clock. Daemen ended the half on a 15-0 run, capped off by a Dylan Fasoyiro three at the buzzer, to take a 44-30 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats increased their lead to 19, 51-32, to open the second half. Mercy rallied with seven straight points, finished off by a Conroy three, to make it a 12-point game, 51-39, with 16 minutes left. Daemen answered with a 28-10 run to take their largest lead of the game, 79-49, with 4:32 on the clock and led by double digits the rest of the way to earn the win.

Mercy shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor, 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from downtown and 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from the foul line. Daemen shot 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the field, 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from beyond the arc and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 37-29 edge on the glass.

Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, December 17th when they host Saint Michael's at 2 p.m.