NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Result
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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Chanze Wellington |
Mercy Men's Basketball Picks off Panthers, 59-56, to Complete Series Sweep
GARDEN CITY, NY - Senior guard Chanze Wellington (Spring Valley, NY) scored a team-high 19 points to help lead the Mercy College men's basketball team to a 59-56 victory at Adelphi on Wednesday. The Mavericks improved to 7-16 overall and 6-10 in East Coast Conference (ECC) play. The win completes a regular season series sweep as the Mavericks also defeated the Panthers 47-46 back on January 5.
Wellington was near perfect on the night, hitting 7-of-8 from the field, including 5-of-6 from three-point distance, and also added seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Vince Jordan (Spring Valley, NY) added 10 points, seven boards and five assists for the Mavericks.
Adelphi (13-9, 9-6 ECC) led for most of the first half, building an eight-point advantage, 21-13 on an Alvin Vivican III three-pointer with 5:00 to go before intermission. The Mavericks held strong though and closed out the frame with a 15-6 run, capped by a Wellington trey with two ticks left, to take a 28-27 edge into the break.
The Panthers regained the lead early in the second half, pulling ahead 34-29 before Mercy responded with another 16-4 outburst, stamped by a Michael Marin (Flushing, NY) three-pointer to give the Mavericks a 45-38 advantage with 12:13 remaining.
Junior forward Justin McMullen (Brooklyn, NY) drained a three-pointer to stretch the gap to 50-41 at the 10:31 mark. Adelphi began to chip away and managed to pull within three on another Vivican three-pointer with 1:05 left in the contest, but the Panthers missed their final three field goal attempts and Jordan came up with a key steal and block in the closing seconds to seal it.
Adelphi's Richard Byrd led all players with 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Vivican III finished with 14 points for the Panthers.
Mercy shot a season-best 52.4 percent from the field, including a blistering 10-of-12 from long distance, and held a 32-29 advantage in the rebound column. The Mavericks also held Adelphi to 37.5 percent from the floor overall and just 8-of-27 behind the arc.
The Mavericks will return to action on Saturday, February 16, when they host Molloy in their final home game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. at Dobbs Ferry High School. Mercy will also honor its four seniors in a special pre-game presentation.
