DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 1, 2022) – The Mercy College men's basketball team plays at RV St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday, February 2nd at 7:30 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 2nd 7:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-16, 2-9 ECC), RV St. Thomas Aquinas (15-4, 8-1 ECC)
Location: Sparkill, N.Y.
Last Meeting
St. Thomas Aquinas earned a 93-63 win over Mercy on December 8, 2021.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off an 85-79 loss to Bridgeport on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by junior James Taylor Jr. who had a team-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Sophomore Jayden Dewaal had a double-double by way of 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and junior Brandon Wilson netted 16 points. Mercy is looking for their first win over St. Thomas Aquinas since February 13, 2013. Mercy was picked seventh in the ECC Coaches' Poll after going 2-5 in 2021. The top six teams in the ECC standings qualify for the ECC Tournament. Mercy made their first ECC Tournament appearance since 2016 last season. Mercy is currently led by Taylor Jr. who averages a team-high 14.3 points per game and has scored in double figures in 13 of the 17 games he has played in. Junior Elijah Mitchell is fourth on the team with 9.7 points per game and leads the team with 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Junior Brandon Wilson has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice and is second on the team averaging 11.2 points per game. He is second on the team shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games. Junior Garrett Kirkland is fifth on the team with 7.4 points per game and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice. He is shooting a team-best 36.3 percent from downtown and has a team-high 33 threes on the year. Sophomore Jayden Dewaal was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on January 18th and averages 10.4 points and a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game and 1.7 blocks per game in eight starts. He has been named to the ECC Honor Roll once and is third in the ECC in rebounds per game.
Scouting the Spartans
STAC is coming off an 86-81 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday for their third straight win. The Spartans have won 11 of their last 12 games and are 7-1 at home this season. STAC is currently ranked third in the D2SIDA East Region Top 10 Poll and was picked to finish first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 14-2 last season. The Spartans won the ECC Championship last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. STAC is led by senior Osbel Caraballo who averages a team-high 15.7 points per game on a team-best 60.3 percent shooting with a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior Demetre Roberts is averaging 14.1 points per game and sophomore Jamal Barnes is posting 11.1 points per game on a team-high 2.7 made threes per game. Senior Grant Singleton also averages double figures with 10.3 points per game and dishes out 3.7 assists per game.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, February 9th when they play at Queens at 7:30 p.m.
