BLOOMFIELD, N.J. (Nov. 26, 2024) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 94-80 decision at Bloomfield College on Tuesday night at Bloomfield College Gym.
The Mavericks (0-4) remain winless on the year and fall to the Bears (4-2) for the second straight year.
Mercy was led by freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) who had a team-high-tying 14 points with a game-high eight assists to go with six rebounds. Sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds and junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) had 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) contributed a career-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds and senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) had 10 points and four assists. Freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) recorded eight points and a team-high-tying nine rebounds and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) scored five points. Senior Max Mitchell (Westport, Conn./Roberts Wesleyan University) tallied three points and junior Jamal Jacobs (Tampa, Fla./West Virginia Wesleyan College) scored two points.
Bloomfield was led by Edward Ngene who had a game-high 27 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks.
Bloomfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Mercy scored six straight points to take a 6-5 lead after a Wahdan jumper with 16:52 left in the opening half. The Bears went on an 8-0 run to take a 13-6 lead at the 14:22 mark before a Mitchell three made it 13-9 with 12:27 on the clock.
A Chiles layup with 10:37 remaining in the opening half cut Bloomfield's lead to five, 19-14. The Bears responded with a 19-7 run to take a 38-21 lead with 6:09 on the clock. Mercy came back on a 12-5 run to cut the Bloomfield lead to 10, 43-33, after an Ethan Robertson jumper at the 2:16 mark. Bloomfield increased the lead back to 15, 50-35, before a late Wahdan layup cut the Bears lead to 13, 50-37, at halftime.
Mercy began the second half on an 8-0 run to get within five, 50-45, after a Nathan Robertson three with 17:50 remaining. The Bears quickly went on a 14-4 run to build the lead back to 15, 64-49, at the 14:56 mark. A Holloway three and Makanjuola layup made it a 10-point game, 64-54, before Ethan Maynard made a layup to give Bloomfield a 66-54 lead with 12:06 left.
A Chiles layup and two Makanjuola free throws cut the Bloomfield lead to single digits, 66-58, at the 11:31 mark. The Bears put the lead back to 13 before an Ethan Robertson three made it 73-63 with 7:35 left to play.
Bloomfield then went on a 13-2 run to increase their lead to a game-high 21 points, 86-65, with 4:22 remaining. Mercy ended the game on a 15-8 run to make it 94-80 following a Jacobs free throw with 42 seconds left. However, time ran out on the Mavericks comeback attempt and Bloomfield earned the 94-80 win.
Mercy shot 40.2 percent (33-of-82) from the floor, 25.0 percent (6-of-24) from downtown and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from the foul line. Bloomfield shot 44.2 percent (34-of-77) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from beyond the arc and 76.0 percent (19-of-25) from the charity stripe. Bloomfield held a 52-49 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, December 3rd when they host Chestnut Hill at 7 p.m.
