South Portland, ME – The CMCC Men's Basketball team saw its 2024-25 season come to an end after a 71-67 loss to #3 Vermont State University-Randolph at SMCC. The #2 seeded Mustangs fell behind by 16 points in the second half, but rallied late to close within two points before two free throws from Jaylon Calvin iced the game with nine seconds left.
Central Maine led for most of the first half, as both teams settled into the game at the Hutchinson Union Building in South Portland. Buckets by Da'Vohn Jonas and J.T. Pound gave the Mustangs the early lead and a three-pointer from Wyatt Hathaway made it 13-12 midway through the opening 20 minutes.
A layup by Pound gave CMCC its biggest lead of the first half, 22-17 with 5:49 remaining. The Knights tied things up late before Khaden Moore converted on the Mustangs final possession of the frame to take a 29-27 lead into the halftime break.
A dunk by Moore in the opening minute of the second half appeared to set the tone with Central Maine regaining a five-point advantage, but VTSU-Randolph went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 44-37 lead.
Calvin, a 1st-Team All-YSCC selection, had 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to help the Knights pull away. The Mustangs were staying within touching distance, trailing 58-50 with 7:30 left to play, but an 8-0 run suddenly had CMCC down by 16 points and running out of time to get back into the game.
Head coach Dave Gonyea's charges refused to go quietly out of the tournament. Will Duke hit back-to-back threes, and Pound made a jumper to cut the deficit to 66-58. The pair had back-to-back layups to make it 67-63 with 1:35 remaining. Moore made two foul shots, and after Calvin missed a free throw, a layup from captain Jonas got the Mustangs within two, 69-67 with nine seconds left.
However, Calvin hit both his free throws on his next trip to the line to make it a two-possession game, and Duke's three-point attempt missed on the other end to bring the game and the team's season to a close. Moore (19), Pound (16), Duke (16), and Jonas (13) all finished in double figures for CMCC. The Mustangs had a slim edge in rebounds, 29-25, and turnovers, 16-15 but could not keep pace with Vermont's 57.1% shooting from the field.
Central Maine concludes its 2024-25 campaign with a 17-13 overall record. Senior guard Hathaway brings his three-year career at CMCC to an end with 1,080 career points putting him 14th on the program's all-time scoring list, just ahead of assistant coach Corey David. The team heads into the offseason expecting to return 14 players from this year's young squad.
