PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Powered by a combined 41 points from junior Kohen Rowbatham (Slidell, La./University of New Orleans) and graduate student Matthew Filipowski (Westtown, N.Y./Harvard University), the Mercy University Men's Basketball Team opened their 2026-27 season with a 55-51 win at Pace University on Tuesday night at the Goldstein Center.
The Mavericks (1-0) win their season opener for the first time since 2017 and defeat the Setters (0-1) for the first time since 1997.
Pace scored the first six points of the game to take a 6-0 lead. Back-to-back baskets from senior Jordan Trahan (New Orleans, La./Odessa College) and a jumper from Rowbatham tied the score at 6-6 at the 15:52 mark. The Setters later took a 21-14 lead after a Noah Payne layup with 9:59 left in the opening half.
Pace held a 23-16 lead with 6:50 on the clock before Mercy ended the half on an 11-4 run, capped off by a Rowbatham layup, tying the score at 27-27, at halftime.
Two free throws from Filipowski to begin the second half gave the Mavericks a 29-27 lead. The Setters followed with a 10-0 run to take a 37-29 lead with 16:18 left and later held a 46-38 advantage with 9:24 remaining.
Mercy ensued with a 9-0 run, finished off by a Rowbatham jumper, to take a 47-46 lead with 5:07 on the clock. A Jayden James layup and free throw gave the Setters a 49-47 lead with 2:02 left. A Filipowski layup tied the game at 49-49 with 1:23 remaining. Following a Saif Saleh missed three, Filipowski got the ensuing rebound and was later fouled on a three-point attempt. Filipowski went 3-for-3 from the line, giving Mercy a 52-49 lead with 37 seconds left. The Mavericks defense came up with a stop on the next Setters possession with Filipowski coming up with another defensive rebound. Filipowski was fouled again and went 2-for-2 from the line, putting Mercy up, 54-49, with under 10 seconds left. A Darren McFarlane layup made it 54-51, but a McFarlane technical foul led to a Filipowski free throw, making it 55-51, with under two seconds left, leading to a Mavericks season-opening win.
Mercy was led by Rowbatham who had a game-high 21 points to go with five rebounds. Filipowski had a double-double by way of a career-high 20 points and 12 rebounds in his Mercy debut. The graduate student went 12-of-14 from the foul line and 4-of-6 from the field with two blocks. Trahan added eight points and three steals and freshmen Seediya Jabbi (Yonkers, N.Y./Barack Obama School for Social Justice) and Kem Dankyi (Upper Marlboro, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) both recorded their first two collegiate points. Sophomore Tyrell Miller (Los Angeles, Calif./Frederick K.C. Price III Christian School) contributed two points and three rebounds.
Pace was led by McFarlane who had a team-high 11 points.
Mercy shot 36.2 percent (17-of-47) from the floor, 33.3 percent (1-of-3) from downtown and 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the foul line. Pace shot 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the field, 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from beyond the arc and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the charity stripe. Mercy held a 40-34 edge on the glass. The Mavericks hold an opponent under 30 percent shooting for the first time since February 15, 2025 against District of Columbia.
Head Coach Charles Marquardt and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, November 13th when they play at Holy Family at 7:30 p.m.
