DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 3, 2022) – Despite a game-high 17 points from junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Ontario/Trinidad State Junior College), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped an 81-69 decision to ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (2-5, 1-1 ECC) fail to build off their win on Wednesday, while the Firebirds (3-5, 1-1 ECC) pick up their first ECC win of the season.
Dewaal went 5-of-7 from the floor and had a team-high-tying seven rebounds. Senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) added 13 points and seven rebounds and graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven) netted eight points and seven rebounds. Junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) recorded eight points and four assists and freshman Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) contributed a career-high seven points in 10 minutes off the bench.
UDC was led by Hartnel Haye who a team-high 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Mercy jumped out to a 12-4 lead at the 12:55 mark of the first half after a Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) layup. A pair of Deonte Hicks free throws made it 12-6 before the Mavericks scored three straight points to take a 15-6 lead with 11:14 left in the opening half.
The Firebirds cut the deficit to four, 19-15, with 7:11 remaining in the half. Mercy stormed back on a 10-3 run, capped off by a Dewaal layup, to take their largest lead of the game, 29-18, with 4:41 left in the half. The Mavericks headed into halftime with a 40-30 lead after a pair of Joe free throws.
UDC opened the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 41-40 lead with 17:54 left to play. Two Smith Jr. free throws gave Mercy the lead back at 42-41. The Firebirds retook the lead at 47-43 after a 6-1 run with 15:06 remaining.
Mercy battled back and tied the game at 51-51 after a Kone layup with 11:57 on the clock. The Firebirds scored the next seven points to take a 58-51 lead with 9:25 left. A three-point play from graduate student Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) and a layup from Dewaal got Mercy to within two, 58-56, with eight minutes left. The Firebirds built the lead back to seven, 64-57, with 6:11 to play before a Dewaal layup at the 4:43 mark made it 65-61 in favor of the Firebirds.
UDC went on an 11-1 run to increase their lead to a game-high 14 points, 76-62, with two minutes left. The Firebirds led the rest of the way to earn the win.
Mercy shot 32.9 percent (23-of-70) from the floor, 18.5 percent (5-of-27) from downtown and 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the foul line. UDC shot 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the charity stripe. UDC held a 48-45 edge on the glass.
Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, December 6th when they host Chestnut Hill at 7 p.m.
