DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 9, 2025) – Despite a team-high 18 points from freshman Nathan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School), the Mercy University men's basketball team dropped an 80-60 decision to ECC foe No. 2/3 Daemen University on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Judge Student-Athlete Center.
The Mavericks (5-15, 4-7 ECC) have dropped five games in a row and fall to 0-24 all-time against the Wildcats (21-0, 12-0 ECC).
Mercy was led by Nathan Robertson who had a team-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five rebounds. Freshman Ethan Robertson (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds and sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola (Boston, Mass./Quincy College) added eight points, two blocks and three steals. Senior Taj Chiles (Harlem, N.Y./University of Bridgeport) contributed six points and a game-high five assists and sophomore Derek Long (Milford, Conn./Deerfield Academy) added six points and three assists. Junior Thomas Mandell (Southern Pines, N.C./Penn State-Berks) scored a season-high six points and junior TJ Holloway (Stratford, Conn./Central Connecticut State University) scored four points.
Daemen was led by Benjamin Bill who had a game-high 20 points.
Daemen scored the game's first 10 points to take a 10-0 lead with 17:11 left in the first half. Back-to-back baskets from Nathan Robertson and Makanjuola made it 10-4 before five unanswered points by the Wildcats made it 15-4 at the 14:22 mark.
A Long three with 13:46 on the clock made it 17-8 before Daemen went on an 11-3 run to take a 17-point lead, 28-11, with 8:47 left in the half. The Mavericks scored the next six points to make it 28-17 after a Chiles layup with 4:55 remaining in the half. The Wildcats followed with an 11-0 run to increase their lead to a game-high 22 points, 39-17, before back-to-back baskets by Nathan and Ethan Robertson cut the Wildcats' lead to 18, 39-21, at halftime.
A Justin Hemphill three-point play gave Daemen a 46-25 lead with 16:25 left. Mercy continued to battle against the nationally-ranked Wildcats and went on a 12-2 run to cut Daemen's lead to 11, 48-37, after a Nathan Robertson three with 12:52 left. An Ethan Robertson layup made it an 11-point game, 52-41, with 10:26 remaining before the Wildcats scored eight consecutive points to put the lead back to 19, 60-41, with 8:34 left.
A Benjamin Bill dunk later gave Daemen a 20-point lead, 74-54, with 1:50 left before back-to-back threes from Mandell made it 74-60 with 1:19 on the clock. The Wildcats scored the final six points of the game to earn the 80-60 win.
Mercy shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor, 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from downtown and 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from the foul line. Daemen shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from beyond the arc and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from the charity stripe. Daemen held a 40-35 edge on the glass.
Head Coach Chris Watts and the Mavericks resume action on Wednesday, February 12th when they play at Staten Island at 7:30 p.m.
