DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2024) – Powered by a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men), the Mercy University men's basketball team overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to earn a 91-87 win over ECC foe Queens College on Wednesday night at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (2-22, 1-13 ECC) snap a 12-game losing streak and earn their first ECC win of the season. Mercy earns their first win over the Knights (12-12, 6-7 ECC) since February 9, 2022. The Mavericks last beat Queens at home on December 12, 2018.
Mercy was led by Kone who had a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting with a career-high-tying 11 rebounds and four blocks. Sophomore Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) added a career-high 16 points with five rebounds, four steals and three assists and senior Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn) had 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graduate student Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara) recorded 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown and junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) produced 13 points and a game-high 10 assists. Senior Jay Turner (Waterbury, Conn./Notre Dame West Haven Prep) contributed seven points.
Queens was led by Sunnie Diamond who had a game-high-tying 24 points.
Mercy jumped out to a 17-13 lead with 12:56 left in the first half after a Turner free throw. The Knights stormed back on a 15-0 run to take a 28-17 lead at the 8:50 mark of the first half. A Kone free throw with 4:31 on the clock got the Mavericks to within nine, 35-26, before back-to-back baskets from Queens gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 39-26, with 3:49 remaining in the half.
The Mavericks closed the half on a 14-2 run, capped off by a Chiles layup, to head into halftime down one, 41-40.
Back-to-back baskets from Kone and May to open the second half gave Mercy a 44-41 lead. Queens later tied the score at 46-46 with 17:29 remaining before the Mavericks battled back with a 10-0 run, finished off by a Kone layup, to take a 56-46 lead with 15:19 left.
After a Queens timeout, two free throws by the Knights made it 56-48 before a Kirkland three and Kone jumper increased the Mavericks lead to 13, 61-48, at the 13:39 mark. Queens scored the next five points to make it 61-53, but Mercy did not back down and Kone and May combined for six straight points to give the Mavericks their largest lead of the game, 67-53, with 10:59 on the clock.
The Knights rallied with a 17-6 run to cut Mercy's lead to three, 73-70, with 6:20 left. Two Chiles free throws made it 75-70 before a Jayden Seraphin jumper made it 75-72 with 5:51 on the clock. A Shamar Chester three later made it a three-point game again, 78-75, but a Kone layup and May trifecta increased the Mavericks lead to eight, 83-75, with 4:03 remaining.
Malik Bentinck and Chiles traded layups to make it 85-77 at the 3:20 mark. Diamond nailed a three to cut the Mavericks lead to five, 85-80, but Chiles went 1-of-2 from the line after a Conroy steal to make it 86-80 with 1:03 on the clock. Bentinck went 2-of-2 from the line with 50 seconds left to make it 86-82 before Chiles connected on two free throws to give Mercy an 88-82 lead with 38 seconds left. Diamond got the Knights back to within four, 88-84, after a layup with 31 seconds on the clock. After a Maverick turnover, the Mercy defense held off multiple chances by the Knights to cut the deficit and drew an offensive foul with 19 seconds left to regain possession. Conroy went 2-of-2 from the line to give Mercy a 90-84 lead. A Chester three with seven seconds on the clock made it a three-point game again, 90-87. However, Chiles went 1-of-2 from the line to give the Mavericks a four-point lead, 91-87, and Mercy held on for the 91-87 win in front of a packed house at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
Mercy shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the floor, 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from downtown and 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the line. Queens shot 44.6 percent (33-of-74) from the field, 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from beyond the arc and 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the charity stripe. Queens held a 48-37 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, February 24th when they play at Molloy at 2 p.m.
