RIVERDALE, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2024) – Despite 10 different Mavericks scoring, the Mercy University men's basketball team held a 12-point lead in the first half before falling 88-71 to Division I Manhattan University in an Exhibition on Tuesday night at Draddy Gymnasium.
The game does not count towards the Mavericks' record but does count towards the Jaspers' (1-1) record. Tonight's loss was the closest loss Mercy has had in an Exhibition against a Division I opponent since December 2, 2015 when they lost 71-65 to Norfolk State.
Mercy was led by freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) who had a team-high 21 points with three rebounds. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) had 15 points with a game-high-tying eight assists and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) added 12 points. Junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) netted six points and five rebounds and freshman James Connolly (Canton, Ga./The Winchendon School) recorded six points. Senior Max Mitchell (Westport, Conn./Roberts Wesleyan University) and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) had three points, sophomore Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) and junior Camryn Reyes (Bronx, N.Y./Fort Scott CC) each had two points and freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) added one point.
Manhattan was led by Shaquil Bender who had a game-high 28 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 7-1 lead at the 16:38 mark of the first half after a Chiles jumper. After a Masiah Gilyard layup made it 7-3, the Mavericks scored five straight points to take a 12-3 lead after an Ethan Robertson three with 14:13 on the clock.
The Jaspers later cut the deficit to five, 22-17, with 7:48 left in the half before a Mitchell three, Chiles layup and Wahdan layup gave Mercy their largest lead of the game, 29-17, with 6:44 remaining in the opening half. Manhattan stormed back on a 21-2 run to take a 38-31 lead. Two Chiles free throws made it 38-33 with 42 seconds left before Bender and Nathan Robertson traded free throws to give the Jaspers a 40-34 lead at halftime.
An Ethan Robertson layup to open the second half cut Manhattan's lead to four, 40-36. The Jaspers followed with a 12-2 run to take a 52-38 lead with 15:48 left to play. Holloway drained a three on the next Mercy possession to make it 52-41. Two Chiles free throws at the 14:21 mark once again cut the Manhattan lead to 11, 54-43. The Jaspers went on a 9-3 spurt to increase the lead to 17, 63-46, with 10:52 left.
A Chiles layup and threes from Makanjuola and Ethan Robertson got the Mavericks to within nine, 63-54, with 8:45 on the clock. Manhattan ensued with a 7-1 run to increase the lead back to 15, 70-55, at the 6:57 mark. An Ethan Robertson trifecta with 3:10 on the clock made it 76-63 in favor of the Jaspers before the hosts scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the game, 83-63, with 1:55 left.
Mercy continued to battle and a Long three with 29 seconds left made it 88-71 with the Jaspers escaping with the win.
Mercy shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor, 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from downtown and 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the foul line. Manhattan shot 50.0 percent (30-of-60) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from beyond the arc and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe. Manhattan held a 43-23 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, November 16th when they host Goldey-Beacom at 4 p.m.
