SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 19, 2023) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped an 83-64 decision to Post University on Sunday afternoon at Aquinas Hall Gym.
The Mavericks (0-6) remain winless on the year, while the Eagles (5-0) remain undefeated.
Mercy was led by senior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) who had a double-double by way of a game-high-tying 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) added 14 points and junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) recorded 10 points and a team-high three assists. Graduate student Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) contributed nine points and senior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) produced five points.
Post was led by Robert Sanders who had a game-high-tying 18 points.
The Eagles jumped out to a 13-3 lead at the 15:03 mark of the first half. Mercy came back on a 9-0 run, finished off by a Chiles jumper, to cut the Post lead to one, 13-12, with nine minutes left in the half. The Eagles scored the next five points to build the lead to six, 18-12, but the Mavericks tallied the next five points to make it 18-17 after an Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) free throw with 6:15 remaining in the half.
A Tre Duncan jumper at the 2:56 mark gave the Eagles a 24-18 lead. A Dewaal free throw with 2:12 on the clock cut the Post lead to three, 24-21. The Eagles ended the half on a 10-4 run to head into halftime with a 34-25 lead.
A May jumper at the 19:14 mark of the second half got Mercy to within seven, 34-27. Sanders responded with back-to-back threes to give the Eagles a 40-27 advantage with 18:12 left. Back-to-back baskets from Dewaal and May made it 40-31 with 17:32 remaining before Post increased the lead back to 13, 49-36, following a Derrick Thomas jumper with 13:49 left to play.
Mercy rallied with a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to seven, 52-45, following a Chiles three-point play with 11:46 remaining. Post ensued with a 14-6 run to increase their lead to 15, 66-51, at the 7:53 mark, forcing a Mercy timeout. Following the timeout, the Mavericks cut the lead to 12, 68-56, after a May trifecta with seven minutes left to play.
The Eagles followed with a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 81-58, with 2:39 left. Post led by double digits the rest of the way and earned the 83-64 win.
Mercy shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from downtown and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the foul line. Post shot 50.0 percent (30-of-60) from the field, 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from beyond the arc and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the charity stripe. Post held a 36-34 edge on the glass and used 19 Mercy turnovers to hold a 27-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, November 21st when they host Bridgeport at 7 p.m.
