Box Score
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. - The D'Youville men's basketball team had waited long enough for their first win over East Coast Conference and NCAA Division II competition. On Friday night, the wait was over as the Saints edged past Mercy, 66-63, in a tight battle that featured 11 ties and 14 led changes. The milestone win improved D'Youville to 2-14 on the season and 1-7 in league play and it erased a 12-game losing skid, dating back to Nov. 18, 2021.
The Saints jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage on layups from junior guard Latrell Butler and freshman guard Mason Putnam. The Mavericks (2-13, 2-6 ECC) countered quickly, answering with an 8-2 run early in the half. Trailing by four points later in the first half, D'Youville rattled off eight unanswered points with four of those points tallied by freshman guard Nelson St. Louis.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the beginning of the second half until the Mavericks went on a 12-2 run. The spurt spanned three-and-a-half minutes as Mercy claimed a 47-39 lead, their largest of the game. Just when it seemed the Mavericks were taking control, D'Youville cashed in on threes from Putnam and sophomore forward Chris Stineman. Putnam's conversion tied the game back up at 51 apiece with 7:35 to go.
With five minutes remaining and the game once again deadlocked at 53, sophomore guard Bryson Birdsong gave the Saints another three-pointer. Birdsong's try from beyond the arc handed the Saints their first lead since the 15:06 mark of the second half. Needing a bucket with just over a minute left to play, sophomore forward Noah Denz found freshman forward Jared Sullivan alone under the basket for a slam dunk, extending D'Youville's lead to six points at 62-56. Pressuring the Saints to turn the ball over, Mercy got what they wanted under 30 seconds to go when Jayden Dewaal intercepted Sullivan and found Jay Turner for a layup, cutting the Saints' lead to 63-61. That is as close as the hosts would get as Birdsong and Putnam clinched the game with three free throws to put the Saints back in the win column.
Three Saints posted double-figure scoring efforts, led by Putnam's 13 points … Sullivan added 12 points on an efficient 6-7 clip from the field and Birdsong provided a much-needed spark off the bench with 10 points, including his key three-pointer late in the game … Birdsong was clutch from the charity stripe, knocking down five of his six attempts ... Putnam also put up team-highs rebounds (8) and assists (4).
The Mavericks edged the Saints on the glass, outrebounding D'Youville, 37-35 ... D'Youville shot 45.8-percent from the field while holding Mercy to 37.3-percent.
The Saints will wrap up the weekend in Sparkill, N.Y. when they take on St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday, Jan. 23. The matinee tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Sunday's game can be seen on the ECC Network and fans can track the action on Live Stats. Make sure to follow the Saints all season long on Instagram (@dyc_mbb) and Twitter (@DYOUVILLEMBB).
