DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 28, 2022) – The Mercy College men's basketball team plays at Southern Connecticut State University on Thursday, December 29th at 3:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Thursday, December 29th 3:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-9), Southern Connecticut State (7-4)
Location: New Haven, Conn.
Last Meeting vs. Southern Connecticut State
Mercy dropped an 87-61 decision to the Owls during the 1990-91 season.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 66-58 loss to Saint Michael's on December 17th. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. who had a team-high 14 points with 11 rebounds and by junior Jayden Dewaal who had 10 points and a game-high 12 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 Southern Connecticut State. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Smith Jr. who averages a team-high 12.6 points per game with 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 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 11.5 points per game on a team-best 55.0 percent shooting and posts a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 6.6 points per game with a team-high 3.4 assists per game and senior Brandon Wilson nets 7.0 points per game. Senior Garrett Kirkland is averaging 7.9 points per game and Conroy is posting 5.5 points per game. 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 Owls
Southern Connecticut State is coming off a 78-71 win at Bloomfield on December 19th. The Owls have won four games in a row and are 6-1 in their last seven games after starting the season 1-3. Southern Connecticut State was picked 12th in the NE10 Preseason Poll after going 7-18 last season. The Owls are currently ranked ninth in the D2SIDA East Region Top 10 Poll. Southern Connecticut State is led by Ulyen Coleman who averages a team-high 13.3 points per game. Marty Silvera posts 13.1 points per game and dishes out a team-high 3.8 assists per game with 2.3 steals per game. Kazell Stewart nets 10.4 points per game on 64.9 percent shooting and Sean James adds 9.5 points per game. Cherif Diarra averages a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game and Zack Penn blocks a team-high 1.2 shots per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Friday, January 6th when they host Roberts Wesleyan at 7 p.m.
