DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 31, 2023) – The Mercy College men's basketball team hosts Cheyney University on Wednesday, February 1st at 7 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 1st 7 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-16), Cheyney (5-14)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. Cheyney
First meeting between the two schools.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 113-88 loss to UDC on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. who had a game-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds. Senior James Taylor Jr. had 16 points and senior Garrett Kirkland netted 13 points. Smith Jr. was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday and was tabbed Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention on Tuesday. Taylor Jr. was named to the ECC Honor Roll on December 5th. Junior Jayden 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. The Mavericks are facing Cheyney for the first time in program history. Leading the Mavericks so far this season is Smith Jr. who averages a team-high 15.9 points per game with 6.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.6 steals per game. Smith Jr. ranks fourth in the ECC in points per game. Taylor Jr. averages 11.3 points per game with 2.0 assists per game. Dewaal is third on the team averaging 10.3 points per game on a team-best 52.0 percent shooting and posts a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game. The junior ranks fourth in the ECC in rebounds per game. Junior Braelon Joe posts 5.6 points per game with a team-high 3.5 assists per game and senior Brandon Wilson nets 7.4 points per game. Senior Garrett Kirkland is averaging 8.9 points per game and Conroy is posting 5.4 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 Wolves
Cheyney is coming off a 64-52 loss at Central Pennsylvania College on Thursday. Cheyney is playing without affiliation during the 2022-23 season. The Wolves have played seven games against teams in the East Region and are 1-6 with the lone win coming on January 7th at home against Queens. Cheyney is led by Kian Nixon who averages a team-high 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Nathan Rosario averages 4.7 points per game and Nathan Pettus Jr. posts 4.2 points per game.
Next Game
The Mavericks next game is on Saturday, February 4th when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 4 p.m.
