DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Jan. 25, 2025) - Despite four Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 75-73 decision to ECC foe RV St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center. 

The Mavericks (5-12, 4-4 ECC) have dropped two games in a row and fall to the Spartans (14-6, 6-2 ECC) for the 24th straight time. The two-point margin of defeat is the smallest margin of defeat the Mavericks have had against  five-time defending ECC Champion STAC since last beating them in 2013. 

Mercy was led by freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) who had a double-double on a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting. Junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) recorded 17 points and freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) contributed 12 points, a game-high nine assists to go along with five rebounds and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) had 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) added five points, seven assists and six rebounds and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) scored five points. 

STAC was led by Troy'reon Ramos and Luis Risquez who both had a team-high 15 points.

Mercy jumped out to a 7-2 lead at the 16:45 mark after a Nathan Robertson three-pointer. A Chiles layup with 12:11 left in the first half gave Mercy a 16-10 lead and a Holloway trifecta with 10:05 on the clock gave the Mavericks a 23-15 lead. STAC went on a 18-0 run to take a 33-23 lead with 5:46 remaining in the half. 

The Mavericks rallied with a 14-6 run to cut the Spartans lead to two, 39-37, after an Ethan Robertson tip-in with 37 seconds left. STAC scored the final five points of the half to take a 44-37 lead at halftime. 

A Holloway jumper and Makanjuola dunk to open the second half cut the Spartans lead to three, 44-41, with 18:43 left. A Kyle Jones layup at the 16:28 mark later gave STAC a seven-point lead, 50-43. Mercy continued to battle and went on an 11-3 run to take a 54-53 lead with 13:24 left. A Holloway layup later made it 56-54 before the Spartans went on a 9-2 run to take a 63-58 lead with 9:10 remaining. 

The Spartans later held an eight-point lead, 70-62, with 5:48 left and looked to have the game in hand. However, the Mavericks had other ideas and scored seven straight points to make it 70-69 after two Holloway free throws with 2:46 left. A Jones jumper later gave STAC a 72-69 lead before four straight free throws from Holloway and Makanjuola gave the Mavericks a 73-72 lead with 1:50 on the clock. Deshawne Crim went 2-of-2 from the line and Hartnel Haye went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give STAC a 75-73 lead with 22 seconds left. Following a Mercy timeout, a last second corner three from Holloway would not fall and the Spartans escaped with the 75-73 win. 

Mercy shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the floor, 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from downtown and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the foul line. STAC shot 41.2 percent (28-of-68) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc and 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 41-36 edge on the glass. 

Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, January 31st when they play at Roberts Wesleyan at 8 p.m.