OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 8, 2011) – With six players in double-figures, NYIT men’s basketball defeated Mercy College 89-71 Saturday afternoon at Recreation Hall. Pacing the Bears was sophomore Kayvon Roberts (Corona, N.Y.), who posted 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. With the win, NYIT evens to 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in East Coast Conference play.

 

Senior Carl Kindborg (Stockholm, Sweden) added 15 points, while junior Russell Holloway (Budd Lake, N.J.) posted 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Fellow junior Jahari McKnight (El Sobrante, Calif.) also had 12 points, while senior Daniel Berg (Osteras, Norway) and sophomore Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

 

The Bears jumped to an 11-4 lead in the first five minutes but saw the Mavericks fight back to knot the score 21-21 with 7:18 to play. Then at 6:00 on the clock, Hasan Powell made a layup to give Mercy its first and only lead of the game, 25-24. Kindborg responded moments later with his second three-pointer of the night to put the Bears back on top, 27-25. NYIT push ahead and closed out the first half on a trey from Bernard Brooks (LaGrange, Ga.), 40-33.

 

Despite Mercy bringing the score within two-points, 50-48, on free throws from James Mindingall, NYIT held the upper hand throughout the entire second half. The Bears claimed a 13-point lead at 9:08 off a three-pointer from McKnight and then again at 8:16 on free throws from Berg, before a short 6-0 run was put together by the Maverick’s Powell and Mindingall.

 

NYIT went on to close out the game with a 10-2 run fueled by Roberts, Kindborg and Holloway. With just 44 seconds left to play, the Bears produced their largest lead of the game of 18 points, 87-89, on a layup from Scurry. For Mercy, Powell responded with the final basket of the game, 87-71.

 

For the Mavericks, Powell led with 14 points, while Mindingall added 13 points. Ed Wilson and Chaz Morrish were also in double-digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

 

NYIT returns to action on Monday, Jan. 10 on the road at Molloy College. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. in Rockville Centre, N.Y.