DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 8, 2022) – The Mercy College men's basketball team hosts ECC foes D'Youville University on Friday, December 9th at 7 p.m. and Daemen University on Sunday, December 11th at 2 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Friday, December 9th 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-6, 1-1 ECC), D'Youville (2-6, 1-1 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Date/Time: Sunday, December 11th 2 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-6, 1-1 ECC), Daemen (3-4, 0-2 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. D'Youville
Mercy earned an 80-58 win over D'Youville on February 18, 2022.
Last Meeting vs. Daemen
Daemen earned an 84-47 win over Mercy on February 20, 2022.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 66-64 loss to Chestnut Hill on Tuesday. The Mavericks were led by junior Jayden Dewaal who had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Brandon Wilson added 16 points and senior Garrett Kirkland netted 13 points. Senior James Taylor Jr. was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday. Dewaal was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Sean Conroy was tabbed Rookie of the Week last Monday. 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 2-1 all-time against D'Youville and are 0-18 all-time against Daemen. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Taylor Jr. who averages a team-high 12.3 points per game. He also averages 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Graduate student Sean Smith Jr. is second on the team with 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He also averages 1.4 steals per game. Dewaal is third on the team averaging 10.9 points per game and posts a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 7.3 points per game with a team-high 3.0 assists per game and Wilson nets 8.5 points per game. Kirkland is averaging 7.5 points per game and Conroy is posting 5.9 points per game on 31.4 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 Saints
D'Youville is coming off an 89-54 loss to Mercyhurst on Wednesday. The Saints were picked ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 2-26 overall and 1-17 in ECC play. D'Youville has already match their overall win total and ECC win total from last year. The Saints are led by graduate student Willie Kondrat who averages a team-high 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Luke Theisen is second on the team with 14.8 points per game and leads the team with 1.4 made threes per game. Freshman Renard Fontes Jules is third on the team with 7.4 points per game and dishes out a team-high 3.3 assists per game.
Scouting the Wildcats
Daemen dropped a 70-65 decision to Queens on Sunday. The Wildcats will face St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday before playing at Mercy on Sunday. Daemen was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 20-9 overall and 16-2 in ECC play last season. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in every full season since joining the ECC in 2013. Daemen is led by senior Nick MacDonald who averages 15.1 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Senior Joey Atkins has played in two of the seven games this season and has averaged a team-high 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Junior Dylan Fasoyiro is third on the team with 8.1 points per game and senior Ryan Salzberg posts 7.9 points per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Saturday, December 17th when they host Saint Michael's at 2 p.m.
