WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 9, 2023) – Despite senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) and junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 76-60 decision to ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at the Henderson Sports Complex.
The Mavericks (0-10, 0-3 ECC) remain winless on the season, while the Firebirds (4-5, 2-2 ECC) improve to .500 in ECC play.
Mercy was led by May who had a game-high 19 points with six rebounds and by Chiles who netted 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Senior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) recorded seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds and freshman Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) scored a career-high five points. Graduate student Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) produced three points on one three-pointer. Kirkland sets a new school record for career three-pointers with his 183rd career three, surpassing the previous record of 182 set by Chanze Wellington in 2008.
UDC was led by Hartnel Haye who had a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Firebirds jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Mercy battled back and cut the deficit to one, 10-9, after an Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) layup with 15:38 left in the half. UDC followed with a 19-3 run to take a 17-point lead, 29-12, with 6:13 remaining in the half.
The Mavericks rallied with a 9-0 run, capped off by Kirkland's record-breaking three and a Dewaal layup, to make it 29-21 with 4:53 on the clock, leading to a UDC timeout. Following the timeout, the Firebirds ended the half on a 10-2 run to head into halftime with a 39-23 lead.
A Chiles three to open the second half cut the UDC lead to 13, 39-26. However, the hosts ensued with a 13-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 52-30, with 14:14 left to play. The Firebirds later held a 54-32 advantage before Mercy battled back with a 14-4 run to cut the UDC lead to 12, 58-46, after a May jumper with 7:19 left.
A pair of Chiles free throws with 5:27 left once again cut the Firebirds lead to 12, 60-48. However, UDC scored the next six points to increase the lead back to 18, 66-48, at the 4:30 mark. Senior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) later cut the UDC lead to 13, 66-53, with 3:17 left, but that was the closest Mercy could get and the Firebirds emerged with the 76-60 win.
Mercy shot 37.0 percent (20-of-54) from the floor, 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from downtown and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the foul line. UDC shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field, 20.0 percent (3-of-15) from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from the charity stripe. UDC held a 42-32 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, December 30th when they play at Sacred Heart in an exhibition at 2 p.m.
