Men's Basketball Stuns ECC Rival Bridgeport, 85-84, in Full Team Effort
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Dec. 21, 2013) – Seniors Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y. / St. Mary's) and Olajide Keshinro (Brooklyn, N.Y. / SUNY Cobleskill) led five Mavericks to score in double figures with a double-double apiece as the Mercy College men's basketball team defended its home court against East Coast Conference rival the University of Bridgeport on a late three-pointer to win 85-84, on Saturday afternoon.
Mercy improves to 1-9 overall and 1-3 in the ECC while Bridgeport drops below .500 at 5-6 overall (3-2 ECC).
The Mavericks were hot from downtown, shooting 42.9 percent on 9-of-21 three-pointers, and posted a season-best 16:10 assist-to-turnover ratio while crucially holding the Purple Knights scoreless over the final three minutes of the game.
Keshinro started things off with a steal and jumper to take an early 2-0 lead, but Bridgeport hit back-to-back baskets to go up by three at 5-2. Mercy regained the edge on six straight points at the 16:46 mark, capped by a Keshinro layup to take the one-point lead at 10-9.
The Purple Knights responded with an 11-2 run to lead by eight three minutes later, but Mercy exploded for 10 unanswered points behind back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I. / Coventry) and junior Jordan Lessane (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon) and consecutive layups by senior LeBrandon Smith (Jamaica, N.Y. / Archbishop Molloy).
A 7-1 Bridgeport run put the Purple Knights back up by three, a lead they held through the next five minutes until Bailey scored six straight points for the Mavericks and sophomore Daniel Pierrot (New York, N.Y. / Adelphi) sank a trey to tie things up at 33-33 with 5:32 remaining in the half.
Stitchell tied the game up again at 35-35 after a Bridgeport layup, but the Purple Knights regained the lead on a three-pointer and held it through halftime, although what would have been a five-point lead was cut to two thanks to a trey from senior Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y. / St. Mary's) with three second left.
The Mavericks came out firing to start the second half as Stitchell hit a three to take the one-point lead and Keshinro extended the margin to three at the 19:08 mark. Bridgeport took back the lead on consecutive baskets, but Bailey put Mercy back up at 49-48 with 17:35 on the clock and shortly after the Mavericks stretched out to a game-high 10-point lead behind eight straight points at 62-52 with 14:14 remaining.
Mercy held firm for the next few minutes as Bridgeport continuously cut into the margin only for the Mavericks to extend it back out, but the Purple Knights finally unleashed a furious late rally down nine points with 10:07 left to play. A 17-2 run over the next seven minutes saw Bridgeport storm to a six-point lead at 82-76 with 3:23 remaining, with Mercy's only points coming on a pair of Keshinro free throws.
Keshinro completed an and-one to cut the deficit to three, but a Bridgeport layup put the Purple Knights up by five with 2:44 on the clock. Bailey drew a foul with just under two minutes to play and sank both free throws to cut the margin back to three, and a Keshinro free throw a minute later left the Mavericks trailing by two 84-82, with 1:04 to play.
The Mavericks defense came up in the clutch on the next possession, forcing a desperate three-pointer as the shot clock expired, and Mercy called a timeout at the other end to set up a final play with 18 seconds remaining. The team came out of the break with a plan and executed it to perfection as Morrish drained another 25-foot three-pointer to take the lead with 10 seconds remaining. Bridgeport missed its last chance at the other end and the win was in the book for Mercy, 85-84.
Bailey poured in a game- and career-high 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Keshinro tied his career high of 15 points and added 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Morrish finished with 15 points, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, and dished out a season-high six assists while Stitchell and Pierrot rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points apiece.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter and the Mavericks will take a two-week recess over the Winter Break and return to host Daemen College 4-5, 1-3) on Monday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
