BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College men's basketball team earned a major conference win over Pitt-Greensburg on Senior Day. The Mavericks won 76-68 as they honored
Kendall McGill (Largo, MD, Largo),
Rodney Graves (Woodbridge, VA, Colgan), and
Tyler Sealy (London, England, DME Academy) on their careers as Medaille basketball players. The Mavs move to 11-11 on the season and 8-6 in conference play.
The Mavs wasted no time to open up the scoring with a three from Graves. The Bobcats responded quickly with a three but the Maverick offense kept the pressure on.
Jorarei Bile (Oxon Hill, MD, Oxon Hill) drove in to the basket for two that was matched again by the Bobcats. Graves capitalized on his offensive rebound with a made layup and followed that up with another layup. The Bobcats were able to close the gap with a three and a layup, but Bile responded to keep Medaille ahead 22-18.
Jaqwan Washington (Bryan, TX, Bryan) stepped up for the Mavs to help extend the Maverick lead.
Daunte Wilcott (Erie, PA, Mercyhurst Prep) scored soon after followed by a big half court steal by Washington that led to another layup. The 29-18 Medaille lead did not last long as the Bobcats were able to string together a few baskets. Wilcott and
Jorge Latapia (Zaragoza, Spain, Colegio Aleman Zaragoza) scored late in the half as the Bobcats added another three. The Mavs went into halftime leading 33-28.
The Bobcats struck first with a made jumper to start the second half. McGill connected on a difficult bank shot as the Maverick offense started to find their groove. Graves hit a deep three, Bile scored in the paint, and Graves hit another three to put the Mavs ahead 43-32. The Bobcats marched back scoring twice beyond the arc to get within five with 14:38 left to play. McGill hit his pull-up jumper and added another bucket in the paint to keep the Mavs rolling. Wilcott managed to score two difficult jump shots but the three-point shooting from the Bobcats kept them in the game.
With the score now tied at 53, McGill and Graves both hit jumpers. McGill continued his scoring frenzy adding another made jump shot, a three from deep, and scored in the paint while being fouled. The Mavs jumped out to a 65-55 lead with five minutes to play. The Bobcats found success at the free-throw line and scored back-to-back layups. Graves came up clutch with a big three-pointer to get the Mavs ahead 70-62. The Bobcats hit a late three to threaten the Maverick lead, but a big layup from Washington and timely free-throw shooting from Graves sealed the 76-68 Medaille victory.
Game leaders for the Mavericks were Graves with 26 points going 8-18 from the field, 4-8 beyond the arc, and 6-6 at the free-throw line with seven rebounds. McGill recorded 20 points going 9-12 from the field and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds with two steals. Bile added ten points going 5-8 with six rebounds.
The Mavericks will return to play on Wednesday, February 16 on the road at Alfred State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
