COLCHESTER, Vt. (Dec. 21, 2024) – Despite a combined 49 points from freshmen Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) and Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School), the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 96-74 decision to Southern Connecticut State University in their last game of 2024 on the final day of the Doc Jacobs Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Ross Sports Center.
The Mavericks (3-9) have dropped three games in a row and fall to the Owls (5-5) for the third straight season.
Mercy was led by Nathan Robertson who had a game-high 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting with a game-high 11 rebounds and a team-high six assists. Ethan Robertson added 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds and junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) scored nine points. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) contributed seven points and five rebounds and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) scored six points. Sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) recorded two points and two blocks and freshman James Connolly (Canton, Ga./The Winchendon School) scored one point.
Southern Connecticut State was led by Cherif Diarra who had a team-high 26 points.
The Owls scored the first four points of the game to take a 4-0 lead. A Chiles jumper at the 13:21 mark of the first half cut the Southern Connecticut State lead to one, 14-13. The Owls followed with a 13-4 run to take a 10-point lead, 27-17, with 7:55 left in the half.
An Ethan Robertson layup with 4:12 on the clock made it 30-23 before back-to-back Owl threes gave Southern Connecticut State a 36-23 lead with 3:14 left in the half. A Nathan Robertson layup cut the deficit to single digits, 39-30, with 37 seconds remaining. Two Albert Vargas free throws made it 41-30 before a Connolly free throw right before the end of the half made it 41-31 at halftime in favor of the Owls.
A Nathan Robertson three at the 18:51 mark of the second half got the Mavericks to within seven, 43-36. The Owls responded with a 14-3 run to take a 57-39 lead with 16:26 left. Mercy scored the next seven points, capped off by a Nathan Robertson three, to make it 57-46 with 14:52 remaining. Another Nathan Robertson basket made it 60-49 before Southern Connecticut State went on a 25-12 run to take a game-high 24-point lead, 85-61, with 6:06 left. The Owls led by double digits for the remainder of the game on their way to a 96-74 win.
Mercy shot 40.8 percent (29-of-71) from the floor, 23.3 percent (7-of-30) from downtown and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from the foul line. Southern Connecticut State shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field, 40.5 percent (15-of-37) from beyond the arc and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 44-42 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 8th when they host Staten Island at 7 p.m.
