DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (July 14, 2025) – For the 10th year, Mercy University Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top-10 most memorable moments of the 2024-25 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy University Athletics will release a Top-10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next three weeks culminating with the top moment from the 2024-25 athletic year being unveiled on Friday, August 1st.
No. 9 – Men's Basketball Records Most Wins Since 2019 and Nearly Qualifies for ECC Championship
Coming in at No. 9 in our 2024-25 Top-10 Moments is men's basketball who recorded their most wins since 2019 and nearly qualified for the ECC Championship.
The Mavericks entered the 2024-25 season picked ninth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 2-24 in 2023-24. Mercy opened their 2024-25 season on November 8th with a 93-76 loss at 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Bridgeport. Five Mavericks scored in double figures, highlighted by a team-high 18 points from sophomore Shedrach Makanjuola in his Mercy debut. The Mavericks concluded the opening weekend with an 83-69 loss against Post on November 10th. Makanjuola had a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the loss.
Following the pair of games to open the season, senior Taj Chiles and Makanjuola were named to the ECC Honor Roll. Mercy resumed play on November 12th with an Exhibition at Division I Manhattan. The Mavericks held a 29-17 lead with 6:44 remaining in the opening half before falling 88-71. The loss was the closest loss the Mavericks have had in an Exhibition against a Division I opponent since 2015. Freshman Ethan Robertson had a team-high 21 points and Chiles had 15 points and a game-high-tying eight assists.
Mercy returned home for their home opener against Goldey-Beacom on November 16th. Junior TJ Holloway had a game-high 23 points, but the Mavericks fell to 0-3 on the year after a 75-61 loss. After the game, Holloway was named to the ECC Honor Roll.
The Mavericks were back in action on November 26th when they played at Bloomfield. Freshman Nathan Robertson had a team-high-tying 14 points and sophomore Zein Wahdan had a career-high 11 points, but Mercy dropped a 94-80 decision to the Bears. After the week was over, Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the first time and Makanjuola was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Three Mavericks scored in double figures on December 3rd, but Mercy dropped a 75-59 decision at home to Chestnut Hill to fall to 0-5 on the year. The Mavericks opened ECC play at home on December 6th against Roberts Wesleyan. The Mavericks went on a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 80-75, following an Ethan Robertson three-point play with 2:40 on the clock. The Redhawks went on an 8-2 run to take an 83-82 lead following a Malik Brooks layup with eight seconds left. Brooks missed the ensuing free throw after being fouled and Mercy got the rebound and called timeout with 2.3 seconds left. Mercy inbounded the ball and Ethan Robertson hit a fadeaway jumper from just inside the three-point line on the right side as time expired, giving Mercy the 84-83 win. The win gave Mercy their first win over the Redhawks since 2019 and Mercy won their ECC opener for the first time since 2022. Ethan Robertson had a double-double by way of a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds and Nathan Robertson added 20 points. Following the win, Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the first time and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks hosted Franklin Pierce on December 9th and dropped a hard-fought 85-83 decision to the Ravens to fall to 1-6 on the year. Holloway had a team-high 23 points and Ethan Robertson had 21 points. Two days later, Mercy hosted Holy Family and earned an 82-79 win over the Tigers to improve to 2-6 on the year, matching their win total from last year. Nathan Robertson and Ethan Robertson both had a team-high-tying 21 points and Chiles had a game-high 10 assists.
Mercy resumed ECC play on December 13th when they played at D'Youville. Holloway had a game-high-tying 13 points and Nathan Robertson also had 13 points as the Mavericks came away with the 65-60 win to move to 3-6 on the year and 2-0 in ECC play. Mercy started 2-0 in ECC play for the first time and won two games in a row for the first time since February of 2023. The Mavericks surpassed their overall and ECC win totals from last year. Mercy concluded the weekend with a 106-78 loss at No. 6/7 Daemen on December 15th. Ethan Robertson and Nathan Robertson combined for 47 points and sophomore Derek Long added 19 points. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Player and Rookie of the Week and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks ended the 2024 calendar year with losses to Saint Michael's and Southern Connecticut State to sit at 3-9 overall and 2-1 in ECC play. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week and Ethan Robertson was named to the Honor Roll.
Mercy resumed action on January 8th when they dropped a 106-89 decision to Staten Island. Ethan Robertson had a game-high-tying 22 points, Long had 18 points and senior Max Mitchell had a career-high 15 points. The Mavericks got back to their winning ways on January 11th when they earned a 71-70 win over UDC. 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 Elijah 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. Ethan Robertson had a game-high 20 points and Makanjuola had his first double-double by way of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mercy improved to 4-10 overall and 3-2 in ECC play. The Mavericks now had their most ECC wins since 2023 and started ECC play 3-2 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Mercy defeated the Firebirds for the first time since 2022. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks recorded one of their most impressive wins in recent memory on January 15th when they overcame a 21-point halftime to earn a 64-62 win over Queens, following a Nathan Robertson game-winning shot at the buzzer. A Nathan Robertson layup with 1:36 left later tied the score at 60-60. After the teams traded empty possessions, Damiri Lindo went 2-of-2 from the line with 27 seconds left to give the Knights a 62-60 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Long was fouled on the next Mercy possession and went 2-of-2 from the line to tie the score at 62-62 with 13 seconds remaining. Queens turned the ball over on their next possession thanks to a Makanjuola steal, giving Mercy the ball with three seconds left. After two timeouts by Mercy, Makanjuola fed a pass to Nathan Robertson and Robertson drove to the basket and connected on a driving layup as time expired to give Mercy a 64-62 win. The buzzer beater was later featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays. The Mavericks improved to 5-10 overall and 4-2 in ECC play. Mercy started 4-2 in ECC play for the first time ever and had their most ECC wins in a season since the 2021-22 season. Mercy outscored the Knights 40-17 in the second half. The Robertson twins combined for 32 points and Long had 11 points.
Mercy ended the week dropping a heartbreaking 83-81 decision at Molloy on January 18th. After the week was over, Makanjuola was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week, Nathan Robertson was tabbed Rookie of the Week and Long was named to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks hosted five-time defending ECC Champion STAC on January 25th and held their own before falling 75-73. The two-point margin of defeat was the smallest margin of defeat the Mavericks have had against five-time defending ECC Champion STAC since last beating them in 2013. Ethan Robertson had a game-high 22 points and Holloway added 17 points. Ethan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time and Nathan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy ended the month of January with a 99-96 loss at Roberts Wesleyan on January 31st. Nathan Robertson, Makanjuola, Long, Chiles, Holloway and Ethan Robertson all scored in double figures. Mercy sat at 5-13 overall and 4-5 in ECC play, entering the month of February. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the fourth time and Chiles and Makanjuola were named to the Honor Roll on February 3rd.
The Mavericks dropped back-to-back home games to D'Youville and Daemen on February 7th and 9th to fall to 5-15 overall and 4-7 in ECC play. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time and Ethan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy had another impressive win on February 12th at Staten Island. A Holloway three at the 9:54 mark cut the Dolphins lead to one, 57-56, before Staten Island went on a 15-7 run to increase their lead back to nine, 72-63, with 4:41 left.
The Mavericks followed with a 14-4 run to take a 77-76 lead with 10 seconds left after an Ethan Robertson layup. Following a Mercy foul, Messiah Mallory went 1-of-2 from the line to tie the score at 77-77 with five seconds remaining. After a Maverick timeout, Makanjuola took a pass from Nathan Robertson at midcourt and drove to the basket, connecting on the game-winning driving layup as time expired to give Mercy the 79-77 win. The Mavericks moved to 6-15 overall and 5-7 in ECC play. Mercy now had their most wins in a season since the 2022-23 season and their most ECC wins since the 2021-22 season. Ethan Robertson had a career-high 32 points, Holloway had 21 points, and Chiles had a career-high 15 assists.
Mercy made it two wins in a row when they earned a 64-59 win at UDC on February 15th. The Robertson twins and Makanjuola scored in double figures and Chiles had a game-high 12 assists in the win. The Mavericks improved to 7-15 overall and 6-7 in ECC play. Mercy swept UDC for the first time since the 2015-16 season and the Mavericks now had their most wins in a season since the 2018-19 season. Makanjuola was named ECC Defensive Player of the Week, Ethan Robertson was named Rookie of the Week for the fifth time and Chiles and Holloway were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks dropped their next two games to Queens and Molloy, falling to 7-17 overall and 6-9 in ECC play. Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the sixth time and Ethan Robertson was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Mercy needed a win over STAC in their season finale on March 1st to qualify for the ECC Championship. However, the Maverick came up just short, falling 102-75 to the Spartans to see their season come to an end. Mercy ended the season 7-18 overall and 6-10 in ECC play, just missing out on qualifying for the ECC Championship due to a tiebreaker. The Mavericks ended the season with their most wins since the 2018-19 season and their most ECC wins since the 2021-22 season.
At the conclusion of the season, Nathan Robertson was named ECC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-Conference after leading all ECC freshmen in scoring (16.6), field goal percentage (50.6), rebounding (6.7 rpg), assists (4.5 apg), and steals (2.0). Robertson was the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year and became Mercy's first Rookie of the Year since Kerwin Prince in 2021. Robertson also became the Mavericks' first All-Conference recipient since Jayden Dewaal in 2023.
The team also excelled in the classroom with Long and Wahdan being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. The team also posted a 3.34 GPA throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
Schedule for the Top-10 Moments of the 2024-25 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next four weeks, the Mercy University Athletic Department will release the Top-10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Friday, July 11th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Friday, August 1st.
No. 1 – August 1st
No. 2 – July 30th
No. 3 – July 28th
No. 4 – July 25th
No. 5 – July 23rd
No. 6 – July 21st
No. 7 – July 18th
No. 8 - July 16th
No. 9 – July 14th
No. 10 – Field Hockey Gets Off to Best Start in Program History and Nearly Qualifies for NE10 Championship
