DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 23, 2022) – Powered by a combined 30 points from seniors Elijah Mitchell (Edison, N.J./Monroe College), Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity Pawling) and Amadou Camara (Harlem, N.Y./Monroe College) on Senior Night, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned a 71-64 win over ECC foe College of Staten Island on Wednesday night at Victory Gymnasium.
In a ceremony prior to the game, Mitchell, Lee and Camara were recognized for their contributions to the men's basketball program.
The Mavericks (6-18, 6-11 ECC) have won four of their last five games and are just one game out of the sixth and final ECC Tournament spot. The Dolphins (7-18, 6-11 ECC) have now lost five games in a row.
Mitchell had a team-high 16 points with seven rebounds and a game-high six assists. Sophomore Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Ontario/Trinidad State Junior College) added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and junior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) had 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown. Lee had a season-high-tying eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with three rebounds and Camara had six points and three assists. Sophomore Jay Turner (Waterbury, Conn./Notre Dame West Haven Prep) recorded six points and eight rebounds and sophomore Justinas Norkus (Vilnius, Lithuania) chipped in five points and six rebounds.
Staten Island was led by Bryce Waterman who had a game-high 23 points.
Mercy opened the game with a 7-0 lead after a Camara three with 17:29 on the clock, leading to a Dolphins timeout. Staten Island later cut the deficit to five, 11-6, at the 15:14 mark. However, the Mavericks scored the next five points, finished off by a Norkus three-point play, to take their first double-digit lead of the game, 16-6, with 12:13 left in the half.
The Dolphins cut the Mercy lead to four, 21-17, with 5:47 remaining in the half. A three from Camara and a layup from Dewaal gave the Mavericks a nine-point lead, 26-17. A three-point play from Max Dylan Butler made it 26-20, but Mercy stormed back on a 9-0 run, finished off by a Kirkland three, to take their largest lead of the game, 35-20, with 2:35 left in the half. The Dolphins closed the half on a 7-2 run to head into halftime down, 37-27.
A three from Chris Velasquez at the 18:28 mark of the second half got the visitors to within seven, 39-32. Back-to-back baskets from Mitchell and Lee increased the Mercy lead back to double digits, 43-32, with 17:35 remaining. Staten Island responded with a 27-12 run to take their largest lead of the game, 59-55, with six minutes left, leading to a Mercy timeout.
Out of the timeout, Mercy scored six straight points to take the lead back at 61-59 with 4:32 remaining. Five straight points from the Dolphins gave them the lead at 64-61 with 3:35 left. The Mavericks defense would hold Staten Island scoreless for the final 3:35 minutes of action and Mercy ended the game on a 10-0 run to earn the win on Senior Night.
Mercy shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from downtown and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the foul line. Staten Island shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from beyond the arc and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe. Staten Island held a 41-39 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Michael Maczko and the Mavericks conclude the regular season when they play at UDC on Saturday, February 26th at 3 p.m.
