NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Result
Saturday, February 28, 2009
NYIT Defeats Mercy College Men's Basketball 87-73
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Justin McMullen |
DOBBS FERRY, NY - Mercy College men's basketball senior Justin McMullen (Brooklyn, NY) closed out his collegiate career with a career-high 20 points in an 87-73 defeat to NYIT in the Mavericks' final game of the 2008-09 season. Senior Michael Marin (Flushing, NY) added 13 points, six rebounds and four steals to finish his career with the Blue & White.
McMullen went 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He also grabbed four boards and dished out two assists. Sophomores Ed Wilson (Bronx, NY) and Jimmy Gunville (Raynham, MA) chipped in with 15 points each for the Mavericks. Gunville went 5-for-7 from behind the arc.
The first five minutes of the contest saw the lead change hands six times to go with three ties. Mercy College (0-27, 0-18 ECC) posted its final lead at 12-11 on a Gunville three-pointer at the 15:50 mark. Carl Kindborg (Sweden) answered with a three-pointer to give NYIT (13-14, 8-10 ECC) a 14-12 lead before Marin knotted the game at 14-14 with a layup.
The Mavericks' offense then went through a cold spell and the Bears heated up to erupt for a 22-4 run that gave them a 36-18 lead with 5:59 to go in the half. Mercy cut the gap to 38-25 on a pair of Luka Trekman (Ljubljana, Slovenia) free throws at the 4:00 mark, but NYIT stretched the margin to 21 (48-27) with a layup from Bryan Smothers (Camden, NJ) just before the break.
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Michael Marin |
The Bears built their lead to as many as 29 at 67-38 with 12:57 to go in the game before the Mavericks began to chip away. Mercy went on its own 22-8 run, capped by a McMullen jumper that slashed the deficit to 15 at 75-60 with 4:29 left. They would get to within 12 (83-71) in the final minute on a Manny Garcia (Bronx, NY) jumper, but time ran out on any comeback bid.
Bryant Lassiter (Bayshore, NY) led five Bears in double figures with 18 points, while Benny Flores (Stockton, CA) added 14 points.
Marin and McMullen were honored prior to the game in a special presentation. Marin was a four-year member of the squad and led this year's team in scoring at 11.9 points per game. McMullen played two years with the Mavericks, finishing this season at 11.2 points per game, and led in rebounding at 6.2 per contest.
