Posted: Feb 22, 2014
CMCC men slip by Machias; head to championship game
Me.-Machias
(15-10,11-7)
95
Central Maine CC
(29-2,17-0)
102
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Me.-Machias (15-10,11-7) | 53 | 42 | 95 |
|
Central Maine CC (29-2,17-0) | 52 | 50 | 102 |
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – Central Maine Community College survived a tough challenge from the University of Maine Machias Saturday afternoon, holding on for the 102-95 win to advance to the Yankee Small College Conference Championship game Sunday afternoon.
The Clippers of Machias trailed by as little as three with 2:49 remaining in regulation, but a 7-0 run by the Mustangs over the next minute, including five points from CMCC's Shaun Hill, extended the lead to nine with a little over a minute remaining. Head coach Dave Gonyea's team converted nine of 13 free throws over the last minute of play to secure the win.
Eleven different players scored for CMCC, with four players scoring in double-digits. Hill led the way with a team-high 18 points while Kazre Cummings turned in 15 points during just 17 minutes of play. Jalen Lincoln and Chris Semedo scored 14 and ten points, respectively.
Machias head coach Brac Brady's team was led by AC Ford, who scored a game-high 24 points, including 16 from the free throw line. Ford also spread out eight assists and six steals. Elias Guitierrez scored 18 points while Floyd Higgins scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high nine points; Aaron Van Buren was also in double digits for the Clippers, scoring 12 points.
Machias held the edge in shooting, going 48.3% from the floor, compared to 45.9% for the Mustangs; but CMCC benefitted from depth, with 56 points coming off of the bench, compared to 16 points for the Clippers.
With the win, CMCC advances to play St. Joseph's College of Vermont on Sunday in the championship game.