While ending the month of December on a high note with a 85-84 home win against conference rivals Bridgeport, the Mavericks faced a brutal schedule in January, playing 9 conference games, with nearly half of those games being played on the road.  Racking up wins within the conference would give the Mavericks the best opportunity to capture on of the top 6 seeds in the conference, and make the conference tournament.

On January 6th the Mavericks took on Daemen College, who is new to the East Coast Conference, in the first ever match up between the two schools.  As the Mavericks battled back and fourth for most of the first half, with just over 6 minutes left Daemen took control and went into the half with a 50-34 advantage.  As the second half started, the Mavericks came out energized, going on a 9-1 scoring run and holding Daemen without a field goal for the first 5 minutes of the half.  The Mavericks struggled to keep the game close and found themselves down 19, with just over 8 minutes left in the game.  That is when the Mavericks hit the switch and went on a 33-19 run to cut the lead to just 5 points as senior guard Chaz Morrish hit a bomb from beyond the arch.  Unfortunately the solid shooting of Daemen college was too much for the Mavericks to handle as they lose a tough game 99-92.  In the loss seniors Kirk Bailey and Olajide Keshinro each recorded career highs in points with Bailey scoring 25, and Keshinro scoring 24.  Both seniors grabbed double digit rebounds as well with Bailey grabbing 10 and Keshinro grabbing 14.  Senior guard Chaz Morrish also chipped in with 18 points and dishing out a pair of assists.  The Mavericks played tough but the difference in the game was the bench scoring, as Daemen’s bench outscored Mercy’s bench 25-15.

This loss would be the first loss of the new year as well as the first loss of what would grow to be an 8 game losing streak in the month of January for the Mavericks. Surely not the way the Mavericks wanted it to go as conference wins were a necessity.  Although the Mavericks played tough in several close games against Queens(N.Y.) where they lost in overtime and Roberts Wesleyan where they lost by 4 points, the Mavericks were unable to grab any victories.

And then there was the game versus the University of the District of Colombia….

On January 30th the Mavericks  played host to the University of the District of Colombia who, record wise, were just 2 wins better than Mercy overall and tied with the mavericks in the win column in the conference.  If the Mavericks were attempting to gain any type of winning momentum, this would be their most vulnerable opponent.  The Mavericks desperately needed to capitalize. They did just that.

The Mavericks galloped out to a 14-5 in the first 7 minutes of the game.  After 5 unanswered points UDC pulled within 4. After cutting the lead to 2 points with just over 5 minutes remaining in the first half the Mavericks blitzed the Firebirds of UDC scoring 8 unanswered points.  AT the end of the first half the Mavericks held the lead 37-27.  As the second half started, so did the Mavericks offense, as they dominated the first 12 minutes of the second half, pushing the lead to as high as 15 points.  A quick run by UDC put them right back in the game as they only trailed the Mavericks by 7 points with just over 8 minutes left in the game.  As Mercy went scoreless for the next 6 minutes, UDC cut the lead to 2 points, and Mercy looked like they were going to let this one slip away.  Senior Chaz Morrish hit a huge three point shot that catapulted the Mavericks to a 7 point lead with just over a minute left to play n the game.  An unexpected 3 point shot, pulled the Firebirds within 1 point but that is as close as they would get as Mercy came out victorious, collect their second win of the season.  Junior Terrance Murchie lead the team offensively scoring 15 points, while senior Kirk Bailey pitched in with a double double scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Senior Chaz Morrish lead the team with 7 assists while chipping in 5 points.  Senior P.J. Walters also had a terrific game dropping in 14 points and adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and sophomore Dan Pierrot added 13 points 3 steals and 2 blocks.  It was a great overall team effort that had Mavericks fans wondering where this team has been the whole season.

Finishing up with the their grueling schedule from last month with a win was a a great look for the Mavericks as they now have another tough schedule in the month of February, with a 7 game conference line up that has them playing on the road for more than half of the games.  Hopefully the Mavericks can finish up the season on a positive note.