DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 1, 2024) – The Mercy University men's basketball team hosts ECC foe No. 14/17 St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, March 2nd at 5 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, March 2nd 5 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-23, 1-14 ECC), #14/17 St. Thomas Aquinas (22-5, 13-2 ECC)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Last Meeting vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
Mercy dropped a 106-74 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas on December 2, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off an 83-73 loss at Molloy on Saturday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Asa Kone who had a team-high 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Mercy was selected ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 6-20 overall and 3-13 in ECC play last season. 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, February 5th, and February 20th and is second on the team with 15.3 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 9.6 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 7.8 points per game and Turner is netting 5.5 points and 4.2 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 4.4 assists per game. Kone was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday and is averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and has recorded five double-doubles in his last eight games. Mercy is 2-38 in their last 40 meetings against the Spartans. The Mavericks have dropped 22 straight meetings to the Spartans with the last win coming on February 13, 2013. Mercy last defeat STAC at home on January 21, 2012. The Mavericks will honor seniors Garrett Kirkland, Alex May, Jay Turner and Jayden Dewaal in a ceremony prior to the game.
Scouting the Spartans
St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a 110-95 win over Queens on Saturday for their third straight win. The The Spartans were picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 26-5 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. St. Thomas Aquinas has won four straight ECC Championships and seven of the last eight. The Spartans have secured the ECC Regular Season Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked No. 14 nationally in the D2CSC Poll and No. 17 nationally in the NABC poll. The Spartans are currently ranked first in the NCAA Division II East Regional Rankings. St. Thomas Aquinas is led by nine-time ECC Player of the Week James Patterson who averages an ECC-best 24.0 points per game and averages team-high 8.4 rebounds per game. Kyle Pulliam is second on the team with 13.6 points per game and Jamal Barnes is third with 11.3 points per game.
