DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 6, 2025) – The Mercy University men's basketball team hosts ECC foe D'Youville University on Friday, February 7th at 7 p.m. before hosting No. 2/3 Daemen University on Sunday, February 9th at 2 p.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Friday, February 7th 7 p.m.

Records: Mercy (5-13, 4-5 ECC), D'Youville (5-14, 3-7 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Date/Time: Sunday, February 9th 2 p.m.

Records: Mercy (5-13, 4-5 ECC), No. 2/3 Daemen (19-0, 10-0 ECC)

Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Last Meeting vs. D'Youville

Mercy earned a 65-60 win at D'Youville on December 13, 2024.

Last Meeting vs. Daemen

Mercy dropped a 106-78 decision at Daemen on December 15, 2024.

Scouting the Mavericks

Mercy was selected ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 2-24 overall and 1-15 in ECC play last season. The Mavericks are looking to make their first ECC Championship appearance since 2021. Mercy has not qualified for the ECC Championship without every team making it since 2016. The Mavericks are looking to win their season opener for the first time since 2017. Leading the returners for third-year Head Coach Chris Watts is senior Taj Chiles who averaged 12.2 points, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season. He led the team in assists and steals per game and was third in points per game. Chiles ranked fourth in the ECC in assists per game last season. Also returning for the Mavericks is senior Max Mitchell who averaged 3.9 points per game in seven games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Junior Jamal Jacobs returns after appearing in all 26 games last season and junior Thomas Mandell and sophomores Zein Wahdan, Derek Long and Aston Sannasi also return after playing in a combined 188 minutes last season. Leading the newcomers for Watts is junior TJ Holloway who transfers from Division I Central Connecticut State University. Holloway appeared in 22 games averaging 1.2 points per game in two seasons. Junior Sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola joins Mercy from Quincy College where he averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Watts also brings in a strong freshman class led by James Connolly, Nathan Robertson and Ethan Robertson.

The Mavericks are coming off a 99-96 loss to Roberts Wesleyan on Friday. Mercy was led by freshman Nathan Robertson who had a team-high 17 points and by senior Taj Chiles who had a double-double. Mercy has three more wins than all of last year and started 2-0 in ECC play for the first time ever. The Mavericks have been led by sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola who is averaging 11.2 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting with 6.1 rebounds per game. Makanjuola has recorded a double-double in two of his last five games. Senior Taj Chiles is averaging 7.5 points per game and leads the team with 5.3 assists per game and freshman Nathan Robertson is netting a team-high 16.0 points per game to go with 4.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Junior TJ Holloway is averaging 12.4 points per game with 4.1 rebounds per game and freshman Ethan Robertson is averaging 15.7 points per game and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Derek Long and senior Max Mitchell are averaging 7.9 and 6.2 points per game, respectively. Makanjuola and Chiles were named to the ECC Honor Roll on November 11th and Holloway was tabbed to the Honor Roll on November 18th. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week on December 2nd and Makanjuola was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week on December 9th and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week on December 16th and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week on December 23rd and Ethan Robertson was named to the Honor Roll. Ethan Robertson has been named MBWA Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention twice. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time on January 13th and was tabbed MBWA Division II-III Player of the Week Honorable Mention on January 14th. Nathan Robertson was named to the ECC Honor Roll on January 13th. Makanjuola was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week on January 20th and Nathan Robertson was tabbed Rookie of the Week for the third time. Long was named to the ECC Honor Roll for the first time on January 20th. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time last week and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time on Monday and Chiles and Makanjuola were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Mercy is 4-4 all-time against D'Youville and is looking to sweep the season series against the Saints for the first time. The Mavericks look to defeat Daemen for the first time in program history. Mercy is currently 0-23 all-time against the Wildcats.

Scouting the Saints

D'Youville is coming off an 80-67 win against Staten Island on Sunday for their third straight win. The Saints were picked eighth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 7-20 last season. D'Youville is led by two-time ECC Player of the Week Justin Moore who is averaging a team-high 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 46.7 percent shooting. Elisha Warren is second on the team with 9.3 points per game and Jaylin Simmons and Trayton Trice both average 8.1 points per game. Noah Hutchins leads the team with 2.9 assists per game and Renard Fontes-Jules averages a team-high 2.0 steals per game.

Scouting the Wildcats

Daemen is coming off a 77-61 win over UDC on Sunday. The Wildcats will play at St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday before playing at Mercy on Sunday. Daemen is currently ranked No. 2 nationally in the NABC Top 25 Poll and No. 3 in the D2CSC Top 25 Poll. The Wildcats are ranked first in the D2CSC East Region Top 10 Poll. Daemen was picked tied for first in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 25-9 last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are led by three-time ECC Player of the Week and three-time Defensive Player of the Week Benjamin Bill who is averaging a team-high 16.6 points per game on 73.2 percent shooting with 6.8 rebounds per game. Two-time ECC Player of the Week Justin Hemphill is second on the team with 11.7 points per game and leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. Zach Philipkoski is third on the team with 10.1 points per game and Justin Glover is fourth with 9.7 points per game. The Wildcats are outscoring their opponents by nearly 24 points a game and shoot 52.0 percent from the floor.

Next Game

Mercy plays at Staten Island on Wednesday, February 12th at 7:30 p.m.