ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan College men's basketball team entered Wednesday night's game against Mercy College averaging 81.9 points per game.
The Redhawks surpassed their average,  but it was defense that fueled Roberts to a 94-74 runaway victory over the Mavericks in an East Coast Conference game at the Voller Athletic Center.
Mercy (2-15, 2-8 ECC) built an early 28-19 lead over Roberts (7-6, 5-3) before the Redhawks turned up their pressure, holding the Mavericks scoreless for 7:34 and closing the first half on a 22-2 run capped by Abou Gbane's long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"That was big going into the half," said junior guard Rian Carter, who scored six points during the game-changing burst and led Roberts with 20. "That was a big shot by Abou. We preach one stop at a time, one practice at a time and one game at a time and that really energized us."
Roberts coach Mark Saladzius said he was surprised it took the Redhawks a while to get started, but was happy with what he saw once they did. He credited Eric Lewis, Eimantas Gudkovas and Max Mitchell with coming off the bench and providing a spark.
"I think that those guys really stabilized things for us," Saladzius said. "The guys got a little more pep in their step with that run and really energized us."
Senior guard Shane Fanning scored seven points during the run and finished with 14. Gudkovas scored six of his eight during the spurt.
Roberts made 19 of 32 shots from the floor (59.4 percent) and outscored Mercy 53-44 in the second half. All 13 of the players active for Roberts scored in the game, much to the delight of their teammates.
"It just shows that the guys really care about each other and really care about celebrating their teammates," Saladzius said. "A lot of these guys are unsung heroes who come to practice every day but don't get a chance to show what they can do in games. It's nice that they made the most of their opportunities tonight."
Amari Lee added 12 points and 5 assists and Gbane finished with 10 points for Roberts, which swept its season series with Mercy.
The Redhawks host Saint Thomas Aquinas College (14-4, 7-1 ECC) at 4 p.m. Saturday. STAC defeated Roberts 94-87 on Dec. 19.