DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 2, 2024) – Despite five Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a 120-86 decision to ECC foe No. 14/17 St. Thomas Aquinas College on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
In a ceremony prior to the game, seniors Garrett Kirkland (Springdale, Md./Bishop McNamara), Alex May (Englewood, N.J./St. Francis College (Brooklyn), Jayden Dewaal (Toronto, Canada/Trinidad State Junior College) and Jay Turner (Waterbury, Conn./Notre Dame West Haven Prep) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
The Mavericks (2-24, 1-15 ECC) end their season with two straight losses, while the Spartans (23-5, 14-2 ECC) end the season as ECC Regular Season Champions.
Mercy was led by May who had a team-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds. Kirkland had 17 points on five three-pointers. Kirkland set a school record with his 104th game played today. He surpasses the record of 103 games played set by Ilee Coleman, Michael Marin, and Ed Wilson. Kirkland also sets a school record for three-pointers made in a single season with 71. He surpasses the previous record of 70 set by Chanze Wellington in 2008. Junior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) had 13 points, six assists and six rebounds and sophomore Sean Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) had 12 points and seven rebounds. Dewaal recorded 11 points and three rebounds and sophomore Asa Kone (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) had eight points and two blocks. Sophomore Jamal Jacobs (Tampa, Fla./West Virginia Wesleyan College) and freshman Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) each had two points and Turner had two assists and one rebound.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by James Patterson who had a game-high 22 points.
May gave the Mavericks their lone lead of the game at 2-0 with 19:07 left in the first half. The Spartans went on an 11-2 run to take an 11-4 lead before a May three made it 11-7 with 16:15 left in the half. St. Thomas Aquinas ensued with a 15-0 run to take a 26-7 lead with 12:17 remaining in the half.
Mercy continued to battle and went on a 16-2 run, capped off by a Conroy three, to cut the Spartans lead to five, 28-23, at the 8:17 mark. St. Thomas Aquinas closed the half on a 25-10 run to head into halftime with a 53-33 lead.
A May layup at the 16:59 mark of the second half cut the Spartans lead to 16, 58-42. That would be the closest the Mavericks could get as St. Thomas Aquinas increased their lead to a game-high 37 points, 113-76, with 3:05 left. The Spartans came away with the 120-86 win.
Mercy shot 43.7 percent (31-of-71) from the floor, 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from downtown and 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the foul line. St. Thomas Aquinas shot 54.8 percent (46-of-84) from the field, 56.8 percent (21-of-37) from beyond the arc and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the charity stripe. St. Thomas Aquinas held a 46-38 edge on the glass.
