Keshinro Leads Men's Basketball with Career-High 15 Points at ECC Foe UDC
Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 14, 2013) – Senior Olajide Keshinro (Brooklyn, N.Y. / SUNY Cobleskill) paced the Mavericks with a career-high 15 points as the Mercy College men's basketball team took on East Coast Conference foe the University of the District of Columbia in the nation's Capitol on Saturday afternoon.
Despite scoring the first eight points of the game to hold an early 10-point lead and committing a season-low six turnovers, Mercy was unable to hold on for the victory and fell, 83-66, to drop to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in the ECC this season, while UDC improves to 2-6 (1-2).
Senior Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y. / St. Mary's) opened the scoring with a jumper on the Mavericks' first possession of the game and classmate LeBrandon Smith (Jamaica, N.Y. / Archbishop Molloy) drained a three-pointer on their next trip down the court to take a 5-0 lead just 1:09 into the first half. Sophomore Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I. / Coventry) knocked down a trey to make it 8-0 at the 17:06 mark and, after UDC had finally found its first basket, Keshinro and Bailey sank shots on back=to-back possessions to give Mercy what would be its largest lead of the game at 12-2 with 15:51 on the clock.
The Firebirds cut the deficit back to single digits and held steady over the next few minutes until a 12-4 run capped by an and-one three-point play tied things up at 24-24 with 7:56 left to play in the half. Bailey immediately drew a foul and sank his first free throw to put the Mavericks back ahead, but they would not lead again despite sophomore Dan Pierrot (New York, N.Y. / Adelphi) and Keshinro leveling the score on a three-pointer at the 6:19 mark and jumper at 4:59, respectively.
A Bailey free throw with one second remaining In the half saw the Mavericks head into the break facing a six-point deficit. A pair of free throws by Stitchell at the 17:31 mark cut the margin to five, but UDC immediately responded with eight unanswered points over a three-minute span and continued to extend the lead to as much as 19 at 64-45 with 10:57 left to play in the game.
The Mavericks soon rattled off eight straight points of their own, including a pair of dunks by Keshinro, to cut the deficit back to single digits at eight, but UDC held on through the stretch to defend its home court.
Keshinro and Smith (13 points) were the Mavericks to score in double digits on an efficient 13-of-24 combined shooting, while Smith led the team with eight rebounds and Keshinro added a team-high three steals and seven rebounds. Stitchell and senior Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y. / St. Mary's) dished out five and four assists, respectively.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks will head to ECC foe Dowling College (7-1, 3-0) on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
