Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Nate Champion (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) and senior guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored 15 points apiece to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a 73-53 win at Mercy in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Mercy Gymnasium.

Champion recorded eight of his points after the intermission, while finishing the game with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Johnson drilled four of his game-high five three-pointers in the first half and ended the game with six rebounds, the second-highest total of his career. Sophomore center Jim Janson (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) was the third Dolphin in double-figures with 10 points, while adding six rebounds and three blocks.

Colin Senior led the Mavericks with 11 points, all of which came in the second half after shooting 0-for-9 in the opening half. Kirk Bailey added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.

After the teams traded baskets in the opening two minutes of the contest, the Dolphins ran off nine of the next 11 points to open up an 11-4 lead. Champion started the run with a three-pointer and a lay-up, while Janson and junior guard Derrek Tartt (Chicago, Ill./Oak Park Fenwick/UAlbany) followed with a lay-up apiece.

The Mavericks responded with a 10-2 spurt to take their only lead of the contest with 11:11 remaining in the stanza. Kortney Parker gave Mercy the lead with a dunk after Joseph Pope and Jordan Lee each had two baskets.

The Dolphins scored eight straight points over its next three possessions to regain the lead en route to closing out the half with 27 of the final 36 points. Johnson ignited the streak with back-to-back three-pointers off assists from classmate James Cormier (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy (N.H.)) and junior guard Gamal Mohamed (North Plainfield, N.J./Immaculata). Johnson made two more three-pointers in the closing minutes of the half giving him 250 for his career, the fourth-most in the program's history, while Janson added a pair of baskets and five other Dolphins made a shot each in the span as the Dolphins took a 40-23 lead at the intermission.

Following a Janson lay-up 18 seconds into the second half to give the Dolphins a 19-point lead, the Mavericks pulled within eight points with a 14-3 run over a span of four minutes and 25 seconds. James Mindingall started the run with a lay-up, while LeBrandon Smith added four points and Senior capped the stretch with a conventional three-point play to make the score 45-37 with 15:17 remaining in the game.

After the teams split the game's next 20 points over the next seven minutes to make the score 55-47, the Dolphins rattled off 12 straight points to put the game out of reach. Cormier started the streak with a lay-up and a free throw 34 seconds apart, freshman Ryan Romich (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable/Vermont Academy) converted a lay-up, Champion made a pair of foul shots, Mohamed drilled his third three-pointer of the game and Romich capped the span with a put-back dunk.

Mercy countered with six straight points over a span of two minutes, but the Dolphins got a lay-up from sophomore Brian Zapisek (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and a lay-up and two free throws from Champion to close out the game's scoring.

Le Moyne (1-1), which improved to 4-0 all-time against the Mavericks, returns to the court on Tuesday at Saint Rose at 7:30 p.m. for the 10th game of the year-long "Upstate Challenge" between the two institutions. An audio broadcast of the contest will be available at www.lemoynedolphins.com, while live stats and live video will be provided by the Golden Knights.