UB men’s basketball (2-2) defeated the Mercyhurst Lakers yesterday afternoon at Alumni Arena, 81-64.
Although the Bulls played at home, this game was anything but a regular home game. Head coach Jim Whitesell coached from the stands today as he took precautionary measures after finding out he may have been exposed to COVID through contact tracing. Whitesell could be spotted four rows up behind the bench pointing and trying to coach his squad from a safe distance.
Assistant coach Angres Thorpe assumed on-court responsibilities in Whitesell’s “absence.”
The Bulls got off to a slow start in the first half as they trailed the Lakers for the opening three minutes of the game.
Junior forward Jeenathan Williams opened the scoring for the Bulls scoring the first four points for UB.
Williams ended with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds and remains the Bulls leading scorer this season.
The Bulls took the lead after a layup from junior guard Ronaldo Segu, assisted by junior forward Tra’von Fagan. From there, the Bulls did not look back and kept pouring it on.
Coastal Carolina transfer, senior guard Keishawn Brewton, who was cleared to play earlier this week, made his debut today for the Bulls. Brewton, being such a late addition to the active roster, was the only UB player without a name on the back of his uniform.
Despite his bare jersey, Brewton made an impact immediately by dishing a no-look pass to Fagan. Brewton also hit two 3-pointers in his debut, finishing with 11 points.
Brewton was not the only new face who took the floor for the Bulls today. Redshirt freshman David Skogman also made his UB debut. On his first offensive possession, Skogman scored off an offensive rebound.
Skogman’s basket ignited a 16-6 run to close out the half where UB found itself up 50-29 heading into the locker room.
UB started the second half similarly to the first, slow. Despite the slow start coming out of the locker room, the Bulls were able to cruise to a comfortable 17 point victory.
Mercyhurst’s junior guard MiyKah McIntosh led the efforts for the Lakers scoring a team-high 12 points.
Senior guard Jayvon Graves stuffed the stat sheet for the Bulls, putting up 13 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one block.
UB will travel to Oxford, OH to take on Miami on Dec. 15 in a conference matchup. UB will not play at home again until Jan. 5, 2021.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
