DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 2025) – Powered by freshmen Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) and Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team earned a 71-70 win over ECC foe University of the District of Columbia on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (4-10, 3-2 ECC) snap a four-game losing streak and double their win total from last year. Mercy now has their most ECC wins since the 2022-23 season and start 3-2 in ECC play for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The Mavericks defeat the Firebirds (3-10, 1-4 ECC) for the first time since 2022. Mercy completes the doubleheader sweep of UDC with women's basketball for the first time since 2022.
Mercy was led by Ethan Robertson who had a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds. Makanjuola recorded his first double-double as a Maverick with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a game-high 10 rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals. Nathan Robertson had 13 points, a game-high six assists and a team-high four steals and senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) had nine points and five assists. Junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) contributed seven points and sophomore Zein Wahdan (Alexandria, Egypt/Springfield Commonwealth Academy) had five points, five rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) contributed three points and three assists.
UDC was led by Elijah Crawford and Tevin Curtis who both had a team-high 15 points.
Mercy held an early 3-2 lead before going on a 12-1 run to take a 15-3 lead after a Nathan Robertson dunk with 13:14 left in the first half. The Firebirds scored the next three points to make it 15-6 before Mercy followed with a 7-3 spurt to take a 22-9 lead after a Holloway jumper at the 9:13 mark.
UDC went on an 11-2 run to cut the Mavericks lead to four, 24-20, with 3:49 remaining in the opening half. Mercy ensued with a 7-0 run, capped off by an Ethan Robertson three, to take a 31-20 lead with 2:04 on the clock. UDC recorded the final three points of the half to cut the Mavericks' lead to eight, 31-23, at halftime.
A Curtis three at the 14:54 mark of the second half got the Firebirds to within five, 39-34. A Long three with 11:53 left made it 48-40 before Charles Holley Jr. nailed a three on the other end to make it 48-43. Back-to-back threes from Holloway and Ethan Robertson gave Mercy an 11-point lead, 54-43, with 9:46 left.
Two David Pope free throws at the 6:31 mark made it 59-53 before two Holloway free throws and a Chiles layup gave Mercy a 63-53 lead with 5:24 left. UDC rallied with a 12-5 run to cut the Mavericks lead to three, 68-65, with 1:49 left. Chiles went 1-of-2 from the line with 1:36 remaining to give Mercy a 69-65 lead. Chiles later drained a layup with 43 seconds on the clock to give Mercy a 71-65 lead before Crawford went 2-of-2 from the line to make it 71-67. The teams traded empty possessions before Rejuan Gray hit a three with under three seconds left to get UDC within one, 71-70. The Mavericks inbounded the ball and ran out the clock to secure the 71-70 win.
Mercy shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from downtown and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the foul line. UDC shot 30.6 percent (22-of-72) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc and 70.0 percent (21-of-30) from the charity stripe. UDC held a 46-38 edge on the glass. Mercy held the Firebirds to just 18.8 percent (6-of-32) shooting in the first half.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, January 15th when they host Queens at 7 p.m.
