AMHERST, N.Y. (Dec. 15, 2024) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 106-78 decision at ECC foe No. 6/7 Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (3-7, 2-1 ECC) see their two-game winning streak come to an end and suffer their first ECC loss of the year. The Wildcats (9-0, 4-0 ECC) remain undefeated on the year and improve to 23-0 all-time against Mercy.
Mercy was led by freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) who had a game-high 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting with four rebounds. Freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) added 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the foul line with a game-high-tying seven assists and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Sophomore Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) contributed six points and a game-high-tying six rebounds and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) had four points. Junior Jamal Jacobs (Tampa, Fla./West Virginia Wesleyan College) netted two points.
Daemen was led by Andrew Mason and Benjamin Bill who both had a team-high 19 points.
The Wildcats scored the game's first five points to take a 5-0 lead before a Makanjuola dunk made it 5-2. Daemen increased their lead to seven, 15-8, at the 15:28 mark before a Nathan Robertson three made it 15-11. The Wildcats went on a 9-2 run to take a 24-13 lead with 11:16 left in the half.
A Nathan Robertson jumper and Long three made it 24-18 before Daemen went on an 11-4 run to take a 35-22 lead with 6:13 on the clock. An Ethan Robertson layup made it 35-24 before the hosts went on a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the half, 47-26, at the 1:26 mark. Mercy closed the half on a 7-2 run, capped off by a Long three, to head into halftime down, 49-33.
A Nathan Robertson jumper at the 17:17 mark of the second half got the Mavericks to within 14, 56-42. Daemen stormed back on a 21-5 run to increase their lead to 30, 77-47, with 11:01 left to play. The Wildcats later increased their lead to a game-high 38 points, 96-58, with 6:29 remaining. Mercy ended the game on a 20-10 run, capped off by a Jacobs jumper, but it was not enough and Daemen earned the 106-78 win.
Mercy shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor, 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from downtown and 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the foul line. Daemen shot 55.7 percent (39-of-70) from the field, 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from beyond the arc and 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 40-31 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, December 20th when they play at Saint Michael's at 5 p.m.
