ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Jan. 31, 2025) – Despite six Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 99-96 decision at ECC foe Roberts Wesleyan University on Friday night at the Voller Athletic Center.
The Mavericks (5-13, 4-5 ECC) have dropped three games in a row with all three coming by three points or less. Mercy earns a split with the Redhawks (8-11, 5-4 ECC) and falls to 0-12 all-time at Roberts Wesleyan.
Mercy was led by freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) who had a team-high 17 points with five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) scored 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) added a double-double on12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with a career-high and game-high 14 assists to go with six rebounds. Junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) recorded 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from downtown and freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) contributed 12 points. Senior Max Mitchell (Westport, Conn./Roberts Wesleyan University) chipped in seven points and freshman James Connolly (Canton, Ga./The Winchendon School) had three points and five rebounds.
Roberts Wesleyan was led by Jermaine Taggart II who had a game-high 26 points.
The Redhawks built a 10-6 lead at the 16:06 mark of the first half before a Mitchell three capped a 9-4 Mercy run to give the Mavericks a 15-14 lead with 13:10 on the clock. Roberts Wesleyan scored the next five points to take a 19-15 lead before Mercy went on a 10-1 run, capped off by a Holloway three, to take a 25-20 lead with 10:41 remaining in the half.
The hosts rallied with an 11-4 run to retake the lead at 31-29 with 6:10 on the clock. Mercy followed with a 5-2 spurt to take a 34-33 lead after a Mitchell layup with 4:21 remaining in the half. Roberts Wesleyan recorded the next five points to take a 38-34 lead before the Mavericks went on a 6-0 run to take a 40-38 advantage after a Nathan Robertson layup. A late Arnardo Camacho layup sent the teams into halftime tied at 40-40.
The Redhawks scored the first five points of the second half to take a 45-40 lead and later held a 49-44 lead with 17:30 left. Mercy rallied with an 8-2 run to take a 52-51 lead after a Mitchell free throw with 16:18 remaining. The Mavericks later held a 54-53 lead after two Nathan Robertson free throws before Roberts Wesleyan went on a 16-7 run to take a 69-61 lead with 12:33 on the clock.
A Keonjay Carter three at the 10:09 mark gave the hosts a 78-69 lead and a Taggart II layup with 5:35 left gave the Redhawks a 10-point lead, 87-77. A Taggart II three again made it a 10-point game, 92-82, with 3:57 left. Roberts Wesleyan looked to be pulling away from the Mavericks, but Mercy continued to battle and went on an 11-2 run, capped off by an Ethan Robertson three-point play, to cut the deficit to one, 94-93, with 1:41 left.
A Malik Brooks layup gave the hosts a 96-93 lead before Nathan Robertson answered with a layup on the other end to make it 96-95 with 1:19 left. Brooks went 2-of-2 from the line to give the hosts a 98-95 lead with 1:10 on the clock and Ethan Robertson went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 98-96 with 44 seconds remaining. Brooks went 1-of-2 from the line with 19 seconds left to give the Redhawks a 99-96 lead. After a Mercy timeout, a Long three-point attempt would rim in and out and Makanjuola would secure the offensive rebound but could not connect on the three-point attempt as time expired, giving Roberts Wesleyan the 99-96 win.
Mercy shot 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field, 50.0 percent (13-of-26) from downtown and 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the foul line. Roberts Wesleyan shot 52.2 percent (35-of-67) from the floor, 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from beyond the arc and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the charity stripe. Roberts Wesleyan held a 37-36 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, February 7th when they host D'Youville at 7 p.m.
