Kele Mkpado - Men's Basketball

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior forward Kele Mkpado finished off the decade with what could be considered a once-in-a-decade performance, scoring 23 points on only seven shots, shooting a perfect 7-7 from the floor (3-3 from three) and 6-8 at the line, to help the CMS men's basketball team fight off a tough challenge from Lake Forest with an 81-72 win on Monday night.

Mkpado came off the bench in the first half with CMS struggling a little bit against the Lake Forest pressure defense and helped get the Stags going. Down by nine points, Mkpado hit a tough bank shot in the paint, grabbed a defensive rebound, and then buried a three-pointer to quickly get CMS back within 22-18. Another three-pointer got CMS back in front 25-24, while his third of the half gave CMS a 34-27 advantage. 

Late in the game, Mkpado added another tough shot, hitting a 15-foot fadeaway with the shot clock winding down to put CMS ahead 63-60. He added a late lay-up to give the Stags a 67-62 lead with four minutes left and hit two pressure foul shots with 1:41 left to push the lead to six. 

In addition to his big night scoring, easily passing his previous high of 14 set earlier this year, Mkapdo also pulled down seven defensive rebounds to help CMS to a 38-21 advantage in the rebounding department. 

CMS will be back in action after the new year for three SCIAC home games in a five-day span, beginning with a matchup with Whittier on Saturday at 5 p.m.