DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 25, 2023) – Despite a team-high 22 points from graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven), the Mercy College men's basketball team dropped an 85-70 decision to ECC foe College of Staten Island on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (2-15, 1-8 ECC) have dropped 11 games in a row and split the season series with the Dolphins (6-13, 4-5 ECC).
Smith Jr. added a team-high nine rebounds and three assists and senior Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) had 11 points and five rebounds. Senior Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) recorded seven points and junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) had six points and eight rebounds. Freshman Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) netted six points and junior Damani Scott (Mansfield, Mass./Quincy College) had five points. Junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) contributed five points and graduate student Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) posted four points.
Staten Island was led by Messiah Mallory who had a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds.
The Dolphins jumped out to an early 11-6 lead at the 15:50 mark of the first half before Mercy answered with a 9-0 run to take a 15-11 lead after a Smith Jr. three with 13:31 on the clock. A Dewaal layup at the 7:18 mark gave the Mavericks a 30-25 lead. An Adefela Fakorode layup made it 30-27 before Mercy ensued with a 17-5 run, finished off by a Jonathan Lapierre (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) jumper, to take their largest lead of the game, 47-32, with 1:11 left in the half. Staten Island scored the final five points of the half to head into halftime down, 47-37.
Staten Island scored the first four points of the second half before Smith Jr. converted on a layup to make it 49-41 with 18 minutes left. The Mavericks later held a 55-48 lead with 14:45 remaining after a Kirkland three. However, the Dolphins rallied with a 9-3 run to cut Mercy's lead to one, 58-57. Conroy followed with a trifecta to make it 61-57 before Staten Island went on an 8-2 spurt to take a 65-63 lead with 6:53 left.
A Wilson layup tied the score at 65-65 with 6:37 left to play. The Dolphins would close the game on a 20-5 run to pull away from the Mavericks and earn the 85-70 win.
Mercy shot 38.6 percent (27-of-70) from the floor, 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from downtown and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the foul line. Staten Island shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field, 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from beyond the arc and 88.5 percent (23-of-26) from the charity stripe. Staten Island held a 46-39 edge on the glass.
Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, January 28th when they play at UDC at 3 p.m.
