Nyack, N.Y.- Georgian Court University's Tahira Matthews (Sr.-Bloomfield, N.J.) collected a program-record (Division II era) 45 points as the Lions suffered a heartbreaking 82-81 overtime loss to Mercy College Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Nyack College season-opening tournment.

Matthews, making her season debut for the 1-1 Lions, shot 15-for-22 from both the field and from the charity stripe, while also snaring 18 boards in the process. Her single-game point total ties Tysell Bozeman (Felician College, 2/15/03) for eighth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference record book since the CACC became a member of NCAA Division II a decade ago.

The Mavericks (2-0) jumped out to a 10-9 advantage as Mercy owned the lead for the first 4:58 of the non-conference contest. A Matthews lay-up 7:01 into the first half provided GCU its first surplus of the afternoon at 11-10. The Lions, after a 25-9 run, increased its advantage to a stanza-best 17 points at 36-19 with 57 ticks remaining before intermission.

Mercy rallied for a 5-0 mini spurt to cut the deficit to 36-24 going into intermission. Matthews paced the Lions with 19 points and eight rebounds in 14 first-half minutes.

Georgian Court appeared to be in solid control of the affair, owning a 55-43 lead with 9:28 remaining in regulation. Anxious moments awaited, however, as the Mavericks ripped off a 9-0 rally to cut the score to 55-52. The Lions seemed to have composed themselves and proceeded to increase their cushion to eight points at 60-52 with just over five minutes (5:09) remaining on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the Mavericks had some bullets remaining in their pistols as Mercy pelted GCU with an 11-3 rally to tie the contest at 63-all with 2:44 left.

Matthews put Georgian Court ahead again, 67-65, with a lay-up with 15 seconds to go to, seemingly, seal the triumph. Mercy's Erin Copeland (Jr.-Kansas City, Kan.) was not having any of that as she popped the game-tying jumper in during the final ticks to force the extra frame.

A pair of Copeland free throws with 2:31 to go in the overtime session provided Mercy with six-point lead at 78-72. It was GCU's turn to put a scare into the Mavericks as a 9-2 run put the Lions up by one (81-80) with 29 seconds to go.

It became Casey Sullivan's (Fr.-East Lyme, Conn.) turn to steal the spotlight as the freshman drilled the game-winning jumper with only a tick left on the clock, ending the early-season classic and sending Mercy home victorious.

Like Matthews for Georgian Court, Copeland also registered a double-double for the Mavericks with 18 points and 11 assists. Brandone Roberts (Sr.-Jessup, Md.) did the same for Mercy as she tallied 12 points and 13 boards. Tatiana Parish (Jr.-Los Angeles, Calif.) equaled Copeland's output of 18 points while Sullivan's game-winner gave the freshman 15 points on the day. Riana Ward (Sr.-Bronx, N.Y.) also reached double-digits with 10 points in the victory.

A day after draining a team-high 18 points for the Lions, Jess Placher (Fr.-Cape Coral, Fla.) added 13 more in 35 minutes on Saturday. Kiara Colston (Fr.-Burtonsville, Md.) dropped in 11 for Georgian Court while Anna Ozolina (Jr.-Riga, Latvia) added 12 boards.

Georgian Court will make its 2014-15 home debut this Thursday evening when the Lions host division-rival Philadelphia University at 6:00 p.m. in the Wellness Center.