Washington, D.C. – Powered by a game-winning three pointer with five seconds remaining from senior Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC), the No. 6 seed Mercy College men's basketball team earned the program's first ever postseason win with a 72-71 victory over No. 3 seed University of the District of Columbia in an East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday night at the UDC Sports Complex.
The Mavericks (13-14) advance to the Semifinals where they will take on No. 2 seed Daemen College on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Mercy now has their most wins in a season since the 1992-93 season and have now defeated the Firebirds (15-14) three times this season.
Leading Mercy was senior Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tompkins Cortland CC) who scored a team-high 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds. Junior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) added 21 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year. Junior K.J. Rose (Binghamton, N.Y./Fairfield University) added eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
UDC was paced by Joseph Nickerson who scored a game-high 32 points and had 11 rebounds.
In a back-and-forth contest with the season on the line, the Mavericks jumped out to a 20-10 lead with 11:39 left in the first half.
Mercy looked to be well on their way to another win over the Firebirds, but the hosts would not go without a fight. UDC followed with an 18-6 run to take a 28-26 lead with 5:07 left before halftime. The Mavericks retook the lead on a Lyles trifecta at the 2:35 mark. However, UDC closed the half on a 4-0 run to lead 32-30 at halftime.
Mercy came out of the locker rooms with something to prove and began the half on a 6-0 run to take a 36-32 lead following a Robinson jumper at the 18:15 mark. The Mavericks maintained a 42-41 advantage following a Lyles three-point play with 14:48 remaining in the contest.
The Firebirds responded with a 6-0 run to take a 47-42 lead with 12 minutes remaining. UDC looked to be pulling away from Mercy as they built the lead up to a game-high eight points, 51-43, with 10:24 remaining. The Mavericks cut the lead to five before Nickerson nailed a jumper to increase the lead back to seven with eight minutes left.
With the season on the line, Mercy responded with a 7-0 run to even up the score at 56-56 with 6:11 left. The Firebirds came back with the next four points to take a 60-56 lead with 5:28 left and once again looked to be pulling away.
Senior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) came down and answered with a trifecta to cut the deficit to one and Lyles followed with two free throws to give Mercy the lead at 61-60 with 3:31 left. The Mavericks held a 66-63 advantage with 1:55 left following a Robinson free throw before Nickerson ensued with four straight to give the hosts a 67-66 lead with 1:23 remaining.
Lyles followed with a three on the next Mavericks possession to give Mercy a 69-67 lead with 56 seconds left. Nickerson followed with a layup at the 51 second mark to make it 69-69 and stepped up on the defensive end with a block, which led to a UDC timeout with 12 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, Nickerson connected on a layup to make it 71-69 with nine seconds left and it looked like the Mavericks season was going to come to an end. However, McClease would not allow that to happen as Rose pushed the ball up the floor and found the senior who drained a three with five seconds left to give the Mavericks a 72-71 lead. Mercy forced a Nickerson turnover on the ensuing Firebirds possession and the Mavericks emerged victorious.
UDC shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor, while the Mavericks shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57). Mercy held a 43-39 edge on the glass and went 24-of-31 from the charity stripe.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks resume action on Saturday, March 5th as they play No. 2 seed Daemen in an ECC Tournament Semifinal matchup at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of UDC.
Provided by the Mercy Sports Information Department.
