SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 18, 2023) – Despite a double-double from senior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College), the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped an 88-66 decision to Goldey-Beacom College on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Hall.
The Mavericks (0-5) have dropped five games in a row to open the season, while the Lightning (2-2) improve to .500 on the year.
Dewaal had a team-high 18 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. The senior recorded his 500th career rebound and now has 501 for his career. Dewaal becomes the 13th Maverick in program history to record 500 career rebounds. Junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) added a season-high 16 points with a team-high four assists and senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) netted 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) recorded eight points and three assists and sophomore Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) contributed four points and seven rebounds.
Goldey-Beacom was led by Nazim Derry and Caleb Bates who both had a game-high 21 points.
Back-to-back baskets from Kone gave Mercy a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the game. The Mavericks later held an 8-7 lead after a Joe jumper before the Lightning scored four straight points to take an 11-8 lead with 15:44 left in the half. Goldey-Beacom later held an 18-16 lead before an 8-3 run by the Mavericks gave Mercy a 24-21 lead after a Chiles free throw with 6:14 remaining in the half.
The Mavericks held a 26-23 lead after a Dewaal jumper before Goldey-Beacom went on an 11-2 run to take a 34-28 lead with 3:58 on the clock. A Max Mitchell (Westport, Conn./Roberts Wesleyan University) three made it 34-31, but the Lightning scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the half, 41-31. A Dewaal layup at the buzzer made it 41-33 at halftime in favor of the Lightning.
Mercy opened the second half on an 8-1 run to cut the Goldey-Beacom lead to three, 42-39, after a Joe jumper with 18:37 left. The Lightning quickly answered with back-to-back baskets to make it 46-39 before a Chiles layup at the 16:16 mark made it 46-41. Goldey-Beacom followed with an 8-2 run to increase their lead to 11, 54-43, with 13:41 on the clock.
Back-to-back Dewaal layups cut the Lightning lead back to five, 54-49, with 10:35 remaining, but Goldey-Beacom scored the next nine points to take a 63-49 lead at the 9:27 mark. Mercy cut the deficit to 10, 70-60, with 6:19 left after a May free throw, but the Lightning would end the game on an 18-6 run to pull away from the Mavericks and earn the 88-66 win.
Mercy shot 31.6 percent (24-of-76) from the floor, 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from downtown and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. Goldey-Beacom shot 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from the field, 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from beyond the arc and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 55-41 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they face Post at STAC at 3 p.m.
