CALDWELL, N.J. (Nov. 12, 2023) – Despite four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 112-87 decision to Dominican University on Sunday afternoon at the Newman Center.
The Mavericks (0-2) open their 2023-24 season with back-to-back losses, while the Chargers (2-0) begin their season with back-to-back wins.
Mercy was led by senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) who had a team-high and career-high 18 points with five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Sophomore Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) netted a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four steals and sophomore Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) recorded a career-high 12 points and six rebounds. Junior Max Mitchell (Westport, Conn./Roberts Wesleyan University) contributed 11 points and graduate student Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) added nine points. Senior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) had seven points and senior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) produced six points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) chipped in a career-high four points and three rebounds.
Dominican was led by Javel Cherry who had a game-high 24 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 7-4 lead at the 17:00 mark of the first half following a Conroy three. The Mavericks later held a 17-15 lead after a Mitchell three with 13:19 left in the opening half, leading to a Charger timeout. Following the timeout, Dominican regained the lead at 18-17 before Kirkland nailed a three to give Mercy the lead back at 20-18 with 12 minutes left in the half.
Kirkland made another three at the 11:14 mark to give Mercy a 23-20 lead. The Chargers responded with a 13-0 run to take a 33-23 lead with 6:54 remaining in the half. A May three and Joe free throw made it 33-27 before a Cherry three and Seth Sharif-Brown layup gave Dominican a 38-27 lead, forcing a Mercy timeout.
Following the timeout, back-to-back baskets from Dewaal and Joe made it 38-31. The Chargers later increased the lead to nine, 47-38, with 1:16 on the clock before a May three-point play made it 47-41. A Joshua Serrano three with 29 seconds left in the half gave Dominican a 50-41 lead at halftime.
A Dewaal layup to open the second half cut the Chargers lead to seven, 50-43. Dominican followed with a 15-2 run to increase the lead to 20, 65-45, with 16:35 remaining. A Conroy three-point play with 12:28 left made it 75-57 before the Chargers went on a 22-7 run to increase their lead to a game-high 33 points, 97-64, with 7:09 remaining.
Dominican led by double-digits the rest of the way en route to the 112-86 win.
Mercy shot 42.1 percent (32-of-76) from the floor, 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from downtown and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the foul line. Dominican shot 55.3 percent (42-of-76) from the field, 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from beyond the arc and 80.0 percent (12-of-15) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 49-33 edge on the glass and Dominican held a 30-11 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they play at Felician at 7 p.m.
