DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 15, 2022) – The Mercy College men's basketball team hosts Saint Michael's College on Saturday, December 17th at 2 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, December 17th 2 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-8), Saint Michael's (6-5)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Saint Michael's
Mercy earned an 89-82 win over Saint Michael's on November 11, 2017.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off an 86-62 loss to Daemen on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. who had a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Senior James Taylor Jr. was named to the ECC Honor Roll on December 5th. Dewaal was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Sean Conroy was tabbed Rookie of the Week on November 28th. The Mavericks won their ECC opener for the first time since 2017 on November 30th against Staten Island. Mercy picked up their first win over Bridgeport since 2013 on November 22nd 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. The Mavericks are 2-2 all-time against Saint Michael's and have won two of the last three meetings. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Smith Jr. who averages a team-high 12.4 points per game with 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Taylor Jr. averages 12.2 points per game with 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Dewaal is third on the team averaging 11.7 points per game on a team-best 56.5 percent shooting and posts a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 6.2 points per game with a team-high 3.2 assists per game and senior Brandon Wilson nets 7.5 points per game. Senior Garrett Kirkland is averaging 8.1 points per game and Conroy is posting 6.0 points per game on 30.4 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 Purple Knights
Saint Michael's is coming off an 83-82 loss at Bloomfield on Saturday. The Purple Knights were picked 11th in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 8-16 last season. Saint Michael's is currently receiving votes in the D2SIDA East Region Top 10 Poll. The Purple Knights are currently on a four-game losing streak after opening the season 6-1. Saint Michael's is led by sophomore CJ Crews who averages a team-high 13.1 points per game on a team-high 2.4 made threes per game. Junior Joel Kabimba is second on the team with 12.2 points per game on a team-best 53.5 percent shooting and junior Romar Reid is third with 11.0 points per game and leads the team with 3.6 assists per game. Freshman Alan Brzezinski rounds out four averaging double figures with 10.9 points per game. Sophomore Jacob Duniver averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Thursday, December 29th when they play at Southern Connecticut State at 3:30 p.m.
