DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2024) – Despite a team-high 20 points from senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn), the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped an 84-59 decision to ECC foe Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (1-15, 0-6 ECC) have dropped five games in a row and fall to 0-21 all-time against the Wildcats (13-6, 3-3 ECC).
Mercy was led by May who had a team-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Sophomore Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) scored a career-high-tying 15 points and had three steals and senior Jay Turner (Waterbury, Conn./Notre Dame West Haven Prep) recorded nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) added eight points and sophomore Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) contributed seven points and five rebounds.
Daemen was led by Zach Philipkoski who had a game-high 34 points and 13 rebounds.
The Wildcats held a 5-3 lead before a Chiles layup tied the game at 5-5 with 17:02 left in the first half. Daemen answered with a 20-6 run to take a 25-11 lead with 5:00 left in the opening half. Seven straight points from Mercy cut the Wildcats lead to seven, 25-18, with 3:27 on the clock after a pair of Chiles free throws.
Daemen closed the half on a 7-3 spurt to head into halftime with a 32-21 lead.
A May three at the 18:50 mark of the second half cut the Wildcats lead to 10, 34-24. The visitors quickly answered with an 11-3 run to build the lead to 18, 45-27, with 15:52 remaining. A Kone free throw with 12:09 left to play got Mercy to within 12, 49-37.
Daemen rallied with a 17-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 66-41, with 6:57 left. The Wildcats led by double digits for the remainder of the game to earn the 84-59 win.
Mercy shot 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the field, 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from downtown and 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the foul line. Daemen shot 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the floor, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (24-of-32) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 42-31 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 24th when they play at Staten Island at 7:30 p.m.
