COBLESKILL, NY
UMPI Picked up another huge victory, and continues their dominant second semester, improving to 9-2 over their last 11 games. But most importantly, they have clinched a playoff berth and are now in a tie in the standings at 9-7 in league play for the final home playoff game spot.
The Background:
It has been an injury- and illness-plagued season for the Owls, coming off the winningest season in program history. They have had their "Big Three" (Akhe McMichael, Doug McCalla, and Dwaine Williams) all available for only five games this season, and their full squad healthy for just three. Despite this, the players have stepped up time and time again, and this weekend was perhaps the greatest example as the urgency was paramount.
With a weekend sweep in New York—including today's 15-point, halftime-deficit comeback win at SUNY Cobleskill—the UMPI men's basketball team clinched a spot in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament for the seventh year in a row, matching the number of seasons the Owls have competed in the NAC. It also marks the eighth straight year UMPI has advanced to the conference playoffs, dating back to its time in the American Collegiate Athletic Association prior to joining the NAC in 2018.
How it Happened:
The game began very close at it looked a lot like their first meeting back on January 5th up in Presque Isle, which swung 72-70 in Cobleskill's favor. Team's traded hoops with Cobleskill shooting well early. The Tigers took a six-point lead at 19-13, before UMPI closed the gap back to one point. Things cooled off for a few minutes before Cobleskill began to pull ahead. An 11-0 run made it 32-20, and a double digit Tiger lead. The Owls fought to keep it close, but their fighting was no match for that of the Fighting Tigers. Cobleskill couldn't miss down the stretch as a three pointer at the buzzer capped off a dominant first half with SUNY on top 39-24.
The Owls sensed the urgency and knew that with a loss, they'd be eliminated from the home playoff sweepstakes, which is currently a three-dog race for the last two spots with UMPI, Cobleskill and Maine Maritime. Coach Kane told his guys at halftime they needed to hold Cobleskill to 30 points if they wanted a chance to win.
The Owls' tough defense showed up in the second half in a big way. SUNY Cobleskill had been averaging 99.3 points over their last four games, including a huge win over Husson the night prior. UMPI started to get in rhythm on offense as well, while their defense did its thing. A 6-0 run brought the game back to single digits at 40-32, prompting a Cobleskill timeout. The Fighting Tigers kept UMPI around double digits away, including 50-40 with 13:20 remaining. Then the Owls took flight.
A rapid 9-0 run brought it back to one-point at 10:52 to play, as they started to really heat up from behind the arc, but it wasn't one individual who heated up, it was everybody. AJ Creech, Doug McCalla, Yuki Ishibashi, Akhe McMichael, Tyson Enget all hit threes in the half, each one bigger than the last. The Owls kept their momentum until under two minutes when they expanded it to a two-possession game, by hitting their free throws and make it even tougher. UMPI iced the game at the line, and with their defense making a Tiger comeback virtually impossible. In the end, the Owls took the game by a score of 74-69, as they outscored the Tigers by 20 points in the second half, and coincidentally, holding them to just 30 points—the exact number they were told to.
Top Performers:
Leading the comeback was junior forward Doug McCalla, who finished with a game-high 25 points and scored from all areas of the floor. McCalla mixed in post moves, drives, midrange jumpers, and two three-pointers to keep the Tigers on their heels. Akhe McMichael also delivered for the Owls, scoring 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting while adding four steals. For the second straight game it was McMichael and McCalla at the forefront. The rest of the team provided balanced production, with timely buckets late as nine different players were in the scoring column. Tariq Martin controlled the glass once again, pulling down 10 rebounds.
Next Up:
UMPI improves to 11-12, a tick below .500 which is an incredible feat considering they started the year 2-10. They are currently tied for fourth place with SUNY Cobleskill, who owns the tiebreaker right now, and are also just one game behind Maine Maritime. Stay tuned for updates throughout next weekend for playoff scenarios and seedings. UMPI will host the Vermont schools beginning next Friday (February 13th) at 5:30 p.m.
