CASTINE, ME
In the last meeting between the UMPI and MMA Men's Basketball teams, the Mariners pulled off a shocking late game comeback bid and ruined the Owls party at home. This time, fans walked away from another thriller complete with late game heroics.
Except this time, fans could say the opposite.
How it Happened:
It is no surprise with how evenly matched the teams were in their last meeting three weeks ago, that the game eventually settled in neck and neck. Like the last matchup however, the home team came out hot. The Mariners scored the first eight points, exactly like UMPI did in Presque Isle, forcing the Owls to play from behind this time. UMPI would chip away, eventually knocking down a couple threes to bring it back to 14-13 which prompted an MMA timeout. From there, the back-and-forth race was on. The rest of the first half was trading buckets, and UMPI went into the locker room ahead 28-26.
In the second half is when the game of runs started to emerge. The Owls climbed out to a six point lead on a couple occasions, and eventually had their biggest lead of seven points at 44-37 with 12:33 to go.
That's when the Mariners packed their biggest punch of the day. MMA would explode and score the next 18 points to go up by double digits at 55-44 with under eight minutes. It would be a very tall task for the Owls to come back on the road this late in the game.
But that's exactly what they did.
It didn't happen right away however, as the Mariners were able to fend off an initial comeback and keep it at 60-49 with 5:22 to go. The Owls hung in there and started to make some shots when they needed to. A big three-pointer from Dwaine Williams made it 62-57 Mariners with 3:28 left, then an empty possession and a fast break layup by Akhe McMichael made it 62-59 with 3 minutes remaining. The Mariners made a couple free throws to go back up by two possessions at 66-61.
For the rest of regulation, the Owls would pitch a shutout. Two huge layups by Saquan Carswell got them within one point for the first time since that huge run by MMA midway through the half. A couple of massive possessions ensued as UMPI eventually found themselves with the ball with 10.4 seconds remaining.
They got the ball in the hands of their best scorer all-season long, and Akhe McMichael delivered. He took the ball to the right side, stopped and popped a jumper over his defender and got it to go. The mid-ranger put UMPI up by one with 4 seconds left. A steal on the inbounds pass, and UMPI had won the game in dramatic fashion, 66-67.
Top Performers:
It was fitting that Akhe McMichael became the leading scorer on the day with 22 points as he shot 6-14 from the field. Saquan Carswell also had a huge 14-point performance. Dwaine Williams had three big threes for his total of nine points, and Gilbert Jean Mendez played 38 minutes, scoring just five points, but came up with 14 rebounds- a crucial aspect playing against the size of MMA and their reigning player of the year, Curt Heinz. Aleix Moreno and James Yamashita combined for 13 points off the bench for the Owls.
Next Up:
UMPI improves to 19-5 and 9-3 in NAC play. They are one win away from breaking the all-time program record for wins in a season. They have now broken the all-time regular season record previously held by the 1994-95 team who went 18-6 and 19-7 after their postseason.
The Owls will face Thomas College tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. which could be subject to change depending on the weather outlook.
