DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 16, 2023) – The Mercy College men's basketball team plays at ECC foe Molloy University on Wednesday, January 18th at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 18th 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-12, 1-5 ECC), Molloy (6-12, 5-2 ECC)
Location: Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Molloy
Mercy earned a 78-74 win over Molloy on February 12, 2022.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 116-79 loss to No. 18 St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. who had a game-high 21 points. Senior James Taylor Jr. added 15 points and junior Jayden Dewaal netted 10 points. 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. Mercy is 8-28 in their last 36 meetings against Molloy but have won the last three meetings between the two schools. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Smith Jr. who averages a team-high 14.1 points per game with 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Taylor Jr. averages 11.7 points per game with 2.0 assists per game. Dewaal is third on the team averaging 10.9 points per game on a team-best 54.4 percent shooting and posts a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 6.0 points per game with a team-high 3.6 assists per game and senior Brandon Wilson nets 7.0 points per game. Senior Garrett Kirkland is averaging 8.3 points per game and Conroy is posting 6.1 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 Lions
Molloy dropped an 84-70 decision to ECC foe Staten Island on Saturday. The Lions were picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 12-17 overall and 10-8 in ECC play last season. Molloy is led by one-time ECC Player of the Week Darren Fergus who leads the ECC with 19.3 points per game. Fergus also averages 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 35.1 minutes per game. ECC Preseason Player of the Year William Muller is second on the team with 11.5 points per game and leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game. Kenny Lazo is third on the team with 9.5 points per game and is second with 3.1 assists per game. Kendell Ogilvie posts 8.6 points per game and one-time ECC Player of the Week Billy Reyes nets 7.2 points per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Saturday, January 21st when they host Queens at 2 p.m.
