BUFFALO, N.Y. (Dec. 13, 2024) – Powered by five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team earned a 65-60 win at ECC foe D'Youville University on Friday night at Saints Center Gym.
The Mavericks (3-6, 2-0 ECC) start 2-0 in ECC play for the first time and have won two games in a row for the first time since February of 2023. Mercy surpasses both their overall and ECC win total from last year. The Mavericks defeat the Saints (2-7, 0-3 ECC) in Buffalo for the third time in four meetings. The win completes the first-ever doubleheader sweep of D'Youville by both men's and women's basketball teams.
Mercy was led by junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) who had a game-high-tying 13 points with four rebounds. Freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) also had a game-high-tying 13 points with eight rebounds and freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) had a double-double by way of 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) recorded 10 points and six rebounds and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) had 10 points, six rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) contributed five points and freshman James Connolly (Canton, Ga./The Winchendon School) had two points and four rebounds. Sophomore Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) added one point.
D'Youville was led by Ti Scruggs who had a game-high-tying 13 points.
D'Youville opened the game with a 6-2 run to take a 6-2 lead with 16:06 left in the first half. Mercy followed with a 10-0 run to take a 12-6 lead after a Nathan Robertson layup with 12:10 on the clock. The Saints later cut the Mavericks lead to two, 15-13, at the 10:12 mark before Mercy answered with a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 25-15, with 7:19 left in the half.
The Saints went on an 8-0 run to make it 25-23 with 2:50 on the clock before a Chiles layup and Ethan Robertson three-point play made it 30-23 with 23 seconds left in the half. A late Kevin Thompson layup made it 30-25 in favor of Mercy at halftime.
A Nathan Robertson layup to open the second half gave Mercy a 32-25 lead. D'Youville came back on a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 38-34, with 15:54 left. Four straight Holloway points tied the score at 38-38 before the Saints retook the lead at 40-38 with 14:18 left. An Ethan Robetson dunk and Chiles layup gave Mercy a 42-40 lead before the Saints scored the next four points to take a 44-42 lead.
D'Youville later held a 47-46 lead with 6:44 left before a Long layup and two Ethan Robertson free throws gave Mercy a 50-47 lead. A Scruggs tip-in made it 50-49 before an Ethan Robertson free throw and Nathan Robertson layup gave Mercy a 53-49 lead with 4:16 remaining. A Trayton Trice layup made it 53-51 before Ethan Robertson nailed a three at the 3:08 mark to give Mercy a 56-51 lead. A Jaylin Simmons three and Scruggs layup tied the score again at 56-56 with 2:14 remaining. Holloway followed with five straight points to put the Mavericks up 61-56 with one minute left. Following a Mercy defensive stand, Makanjuola went 2-of-2 from the line to give Mercy a 63-56 lead with 38 seconds on the clock. D'Youville scored the next four points to make it 63-60 with 26 seconds left. Holloway was fouled and went 2-of-2 from the line to make it 65-60 with 23 seconds on the clock. The Mavericks held the Saints scoreless for the remainder of the game to earn the 65-60 road win.
Mercy shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor, 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from downtown and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the foul line. D'Youville shot 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from the field, 13.8 percent (4-of-29) from beyond the arc and 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 46-45 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Sunday, December 15th when they play at No. 6/7 Daemen at 1 p.m.
