BUFFALO, N.Y. (Feb. 17, 2023) – Powered by four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team earned an 81-79 win over ECC foe D'Youville University on Friday night at College Center Gym.
The Mavericks (5-18, 2-11 ECC) have won two games in a row and split the season series with the Saints (4-20, 3-11 ECC).
Mercy was led by graduate student Sean Smith Jr. (Yonkers, N.Y./University of New Haven) who had a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with five rebounds. Junior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) had 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with a game-high 19 rebounds. Senior James Taylor Jr. (South Chesterfield, Va./Neosho County CC) had 13 points and a game-high eight assists and senior Brandon Wilson (Farmingdale, N.J./Covenant College Prep) netted 10 points. Senior Jonathan Lapierre (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and graduate student Korey Lee (Huntington Station, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) both had seven points and junior Braelon Joe (Houston, Texas/Monroe College) produced five points and seven assists.
D'Youville was led by Will Kondrat who had a game-high 24 points.
The Saints held an early 5-3 lead at the 17:34 mark of the first half before the Mavericks went on an 11-0 run, finished off by a Lapierre jumper, to take a 14-5 lead with 14:37 remaining in the half. After a D'Youville timeout, the Saints scored three straight points to make it 14-8 before a Taylor Jr. three made it 17-8.
A Joe jumper and Dewaal layup later gave the Mavericks a 21-9 lead with 10:59 left in the first half. The Saints followed with a 12-5 run to cut Mercy's lead to five, 26-21, at the 5:37 mark. However, back-to-back baskets from Wilson increased the lead back to nine, 30-21, with four minutes on the clock. The Saints rallied with a 9-1 run to get within one, 31-30, with 2:22 left in the opening half. The Mavericks ended the half on a 10-4 run, ended by a Smith Jr. three, to head into halftime with a 41-34 lead.
Mercy held a 49-42 lead with 16:39 remaining after a Dewaal free throw. The Saints came back on a 19-6 run to take their largest lead of the game, 61-55, with 7:38 remaining. D'Youville looked to be pulling away, but the Mavericks continued to battle and went on a 10-4 run, finished off by a Wilson three, to tie the game at 65-65 with 5:29 left.
The Saints regained the lead with three straight points before Smith Jr. recorded a three and Dewaal drained a layup to put the Mavericks back up, 70-68, with three minutes left. Nelson St. Louis and Lapierre traded a made free throw to make it 71-69 with 2:27 remaining. After a Saints turnover, Taylor Jr. nailed a trifecta to put Mercy up five, 74-69, with 1:43 on the clock.
Taylor Jr. came up with a steal on the next Saints possession and converted on a layup to increase the Mavericks lead to seven, 76-69, with just over a minute left. A Saints free throw and dunk made it 76-72 with 38 seconds on the clock. Joe went 1-of-2 from the line to make it 77-72 before Kondrat made a three to make it 77-75 with 26 seconds left. Dewaal converted a layup with 16 seconds remaining to make it 79-75 before Rod Johnson went 1-of-2 from the line for D'Youville to make it 79-76 with seven seconds left. Joe went 2-of-2 from the line to give Mercy an 81-76 lead and a last second three by Bryson Birdsong would not be enough as the Mavericks earned the 81-79 road win.
Mercy shot 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from downtown and 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from the foul line. D'Youville shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from beyond the arc and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 42-33 edge on the glass.
Interim Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, February 19th when they play at Daemen at 2 p.m.
