Mustangs Finish First Half Strong, Beat Huskies 95-66

Auburn, ME – An 18-0 run to end the first half separated the teams for good, as the CMCC men's basketball team picked up a 95-66 win over Word of Life Bible Institute on Saturday night. Khaden Moore led the way with a 23-point effort while all 14 dressed players saw the court.

"I think it's taken us two weeks to get back to where we were before break," said head coach Dave Gonyea. "Every day we move along we're getting closer to that. The break was long. Doing three-a-days has paid off. Now we just start moving forward."

Both teams got off to a fast start. Moore threw down a highlight reel dunk while Da'Vohn Jonas and J.T. Pound made layups to give the hosts a 10-6 lead just past the two-minute mark.

Hayden Jordan racked up 13 points in the first half for the Huskies, as the lead seesawed back and forth, changing hands nine times in the first 10:40. Back-to-back layups by Moore gave the Mustangs the lead for good and sparked Central Maine's big run to close out the half.

The hosts got hot from outside. Keiontay Marsh knocked down a three pointer to extend the lead to 31-24. Wyatt Hathaway and Ayden Jefferson drilled back-to-back triples to make it 41-29. Hathaway added another and Will Duke converted from the perimeter in the final ten seconds for a 55-29 lead at the break. Overall, CMCC outscored WOLBI 29-5 over the last 9:20 of the first half.

Central Maine managed its 26-point lead from there. Word of Life's Jordan and Michael Weyand scored 10 and 9 respectively but could not find a way back into the contest. All 14 players saw the court for the Mustangs in the second half. Moore led the way with 13 points while Marsh, Riley Bowen, Alexandre Brigitte, and Miles Spear added points off the bench.

"It's really good to be able to play everybody," coach Gonyea said after the game. "We have kids that are team guys and want to play as a group. They support each other very well."

Joining Moore in double figures were Hathaway (17), Duke (11), and Marsh (11). CMCC shot 48.7% from the floor, won the rebound battle 44 to 36, and scored 42 points in the paint. The Mustangs improved to 10-7 overall and 7-1 in YSCC play.

The team has a quick turnaround this weekend, heading to Washington County Community College to face the Golden Eagles on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.