DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 10, 2024) – Despite four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 97-82 decision to Bloomfield College on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (1-11) fail to build off their win last week, while the Bears (9-6) have won two of their last three games.
Mercy was led by senior Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) who had a team-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting with a game-high 14 rebounds and six steals. Junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) recorded a season-high 18 points with a team-high seven assists and senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) added 16 points. Senior Jay Turner (Waterbury, Conn./Notre Dame West Haven Prep) netted a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds and graduate student Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) and sophomore Jamal Jacobs (Tampa, Fla./West Virginia Wesleyan College) each chipped in five points.
Bloomfield was led by Starrell Hearns who had a game-high 24 points.
The Bears took an early 2-0 lead before Mercy rattled off six straight points, capped off by back-to-back baskets from Dewaal, to give the Mavericks an early 6-2 lead with 17:58 left in the first half. Bloomfield regained the lead at 10-9 before Mercy went on an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 17-12, after a Turner layup with 12:50 on the clock.
Mercy later held a 19-17 lead at the 11:22 mark before the Bears stormed back on a 7-0 run to take a 24-19 lead with 9:40 remaining in the half. Following a Mercy timeout, the Mavericks scored four straight points following baskets from Dewaal and Kirkland to cut Bloomfield's lead to one, 24-23. The Bears rallied with a 17-0 run to increase their lead to 18, 41-23, with 3:12 left to play in the half.
The Mavericks ended the half on an 8-2 run to cut the Bloomfield lead to 12, 43-31, at halftime following a Dewaal three-point play just before the clock ran out.
Dewaal opened the second half with a pair of free throws to make it 43-33. The Bears answered with a 9-2 run to increase the lead back to 17, 52-35, with 17:25 left, forcing a Mercy timeout. The Mavericks continued to battle and ensued with an 18-6 run to cut the Bloomfield lead to just five, 58-53, with 11 minutes remaining.
The Bears quickly came back on a 22-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 80-56, with 5:45 left to play. Mercy did not back down and went on a 17-7 run to make it 87-73 with 2:18 left following a pair of May free throws. Bloomfield went on an 8-1 spurt to increase the lead back to 21, 95-74, with 56 seconds left and led the rest of the way to earn the 97-82 win.
Mercy shot 38.5 percent (30-of-78) from the floor, 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from downtown and 77.3 percent (17-of-22) from the foul line. Bloomfield shot 49.3 percent (36-of-73) from the field, 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line. Bloomfield held a 49-39 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 12th when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 8 p.m.
