DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 13, 2024) – The Mercy University men's basketball team plays at ECC foe D'Youville University on Friday, February 16th at 8 p.m. before playing at Daemen University in an ECC tilt on Sunday, February 18th at 2 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Friday, February 16th 8 p.m.

Records: Mercy (1-20, 0-11 ECC), D'Youville (6-17, 3-9 ECC)

Location: Buffalo, N.Y.

Date/Time: Sunday, February 18th 2 p.m.

Records: Mercy (1-20, 0-11 ECC), Daemen (17-7, 7-4 ECC)

Location: Amherst, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. D'Youville

Mercy dropped a 94-69 decision to D'Youville on January 19, 2024.

Last Meeting vs. Daemen

Mercy dropped an 84-59 decision to Daemen on January 21, 2024.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy is coming off an 84-68 loss to Roberts Wesleyan on February 9th for their 10th straight loss. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Sean Conroy who had a team-high 14 points. Graduate student Garrett Kirkland and senior Alex May both added 13 points. Mercy was selected ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 6-20 overall and 3-13 in ECC play last season. The Mavericks are looking to make their first ECC Championship appearance since 2021. Mercy has not qualified for the ECC Championship without every team making it since 2016. Leading the returners for second-year Head Coach Chris Watts is senior Jayden Dewaal who was named Third Team All-ECC, ECC Player of the Week once and ECC Defensive Player of the Week twice last season. Dewaal averaged 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game last season, leading the ECC in rebounds per game and ranking fifth with 1.5 blocks per game. Dewaal ranked fifth in Division II in rebounds per game and third in offensive rebounds per game a year ago. Also, returning is graduate student Garrett Kirkland who averaged 8.1 points per game last season in 16 starts. Senior Braelon Joe returns after averaging 5.1 points and 3.2 assists per game last season, leading the team in assists per game. Also returning for Watts are seniors Alex May and Jay Turner and sophomores Sean Conroy, Asa Kone and Robert Zmujdzin. The newcomers are led by junior Taj Chiles who joins the Mavericks from University of Bridgeport where he led the CACC in assists last season with 5.2 per game. Junior Max Mitchell joins Mercy from Roberts Wesleyan University where he averaged 3.3 points per game and shot 44.4 percent from downtown last season. Also, joining the Mavericks as transfers are sophomore Jamal Jacobs (West Virginia Wesleyan College), sophomore Thomas Mandell (Penn State-Berks) and junior Elijah Botnick (UConn Avery Point). Watts also welcomes a strong freshman class led by Zein Wahdan who joins the team from Egypt. Derek Long and Ashton Sannasi will also look to compete for time in their first season at Mercy. The Mavericks have been led by Dewaal who was named to the ECC Honor Roll on November 20th, January 8th and January 16th and averages a team-high 15.5 points and an East Region-best 10.3 rebounds per game on a team-best 52.5 percent shooting. Dewaal recorded his 500th career rebound against Goldey-Beacom on November 18th, becoming the 13th Maverick in program history to record 500 career rebounds. May was named to the ECC Honor Roll on November 13th, January 22nd and February 5th and is second on the team with 14.8 points per game and averages 5.1 rebounds per game. The senior recorded his first career double-double at Queens on January 31st. Kirkland is fourth on the team with 9.2 points per game and is making a team-high 2.6 three-pointers per game. The graduate student set a new school record with his 183rd career three-pointer in the game at UDC on December 9th. Conroy averages 7.3 points per game and Turner is netting 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Chiles was named to the ECC Honor Roll on January 8th and January 29th and is posting 12.2 points per game and a team-high 4.1 assists per game. The junior is averaging 18.2 points and 6.0 assists per game over the last five games. Kone has recorded 12.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his last four games. Mercy is 3-3 all-time against D'Youville and is a perfect 2-0 all-time in Buffalo. The Mavericks are 0-21 all-time against Daemen.

Scouting the Saints

D'Youville is coming off a 102-83 loss to Staten Island on February 11th for their seventh straight loss. The Saints were picked eighth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 4-21 last season. D'Youville is led by Chase Jenkins who averages 12.7 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting. Trayton Trice records a team-high 13.3 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting with a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. One-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week Noah Hutchins nets 10.3 points per game and dishes out a team-high 3.7 assists per game. Two-time ECC Rookie of the Week Nasir Hammonds pours in 7.6 points per game and is second with 5.8 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Wildcats

Daemen is coming off a 79-71 win at UDC on February 11th. The Wildcats will host St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday before hosting Mercy on Sunday. Daemen was picked second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 20-8 last season. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in every full season since joining the ECC in 2013. Daemen is ranked No. 8 in the latest D2CSC East Region Top 10 Poll. The Wildcats are led by Dylan Fasoyiro who leads the team with 15.9 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting. Justin Glover averages 12.4 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting and dishes out a team-high 3.3 assists per game. ECC Preseason Player of the Year and five-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week Joey Atkins nets 12.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game with a team-high 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. One-time ECC Player of the Week Nick MacDonald and Andrew Mason both average double figures in points at 10.7 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. One-time ECC Player of the Week and two-time Defensive Player of the Week Justin Hemphill produces 10.7 points per game and leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game.

Next Game

Mercy hosts Queens on Wednesday, February 21st at 5 p.m.