UNIONTOWN, Pa. — No. 10 Central Maine Community College kept up with No. 7 Penn State Fayette through a fast-paced, back-and-forth first half on Wednesday night in the first round of the USCAA men’s basketball tournament.
In the end, however, the running Roaring Lions simply flaunted too much firepower and advanced with a 93-81 victory.
Luke Williams scored 33 points for Penn State Fayette (16-11), which advanced to the quarterfinals in the winner’s bracket. Brandon Cunningham added 28 points and six rebounds for the Lions.
London Hoxie chipped in 13 points, Dominick Jackson contributed 10, and C.J. Gaddis notched nine to go with six assists.
Penn State Fayette sealed the victory by sinking 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.
CMCC (21-10) will face either the University of Maine at Presque Isle or St. Joseph’s of Vermont in a consolation bracket game at 1:15 p.m. Thursday.
Carrington Miller led the Mustangs with 20 points. Rob Skinner supplied 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Pietro Badalassi combined 17 points with 10 rebounds, and Thomas Cedre hit three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points.
The Mustangs shot 50 percent from the field but were undone by 22 turnovers that led to 25 Penn State Fayette points.
There were nine lead changes and four ties in the first half.
Miller got the Mustangs off to a quick layups in the first 22 seconds. The Lions responded with three consecutive baskets before a 3-pointer by Cedre ended the run and restored CM’s lead.
Kaleb Benjamin’s 3-pointer gave CM its final advantage of the night, 30-29, with 6:41 remaining in the half. Penn State Fayette forged ahead on consecutive layups by Jackson and Williams.
Cunningham’s bucket beat the buzzer for a 46-40 Penn State Fayette cushion, and Williams opened the second half with back-to-back layups.
Penn State Fayette went up 80-65 with 8:45 left on two baskets by Cunningham before CM chalked up six unanswered points in under a minute. Skinner, Badalassi and Jonathan Moore scored to get the Mustangs back within nine.
Miller’s jumper cut it to seven, 82-75, with 5:23 to go, but a Gaddis 3-pointer restored order for the Lions. Cunningham then drained two free throws after a Hoxie steal, and after consecutive misses by CM, Williams swished two more from the line.
Women’s lacrosse
Bates 11, Wellesley 3
WELLESLEY, Mass. — Senior Hannah Jeffrey made 13 saves as the Bates College women’s lacrosse team notched an 11-3 non-conference victory over Wellesley on Wednesday.
Bates (2-0) received four goals and an assist from All-America senior attacker Moriah Greenstein, as well as three goals apiece from sophomore midfielders Allison Dewey and Camille Belletete, career-highs for both players. Dewey also had an assist and tied Belletete with a team-high three draw controls.
Jeffrey, a two-time All-American and 2015 IWLCA Division III Goalkeeper of the Year, recorded her highest single-game save percentage (.813) since Feb. 20, 2014 at Colorado College.
Belletete opened the game with back-to-back unassisted scores at the 28:31 and 26:13 marks of the first half. After a scoring drought of more than 17 minutes, Greenstein scored unassisted, followed less than a minute later by Dewey’s first goal, on an assist by junior Drew Barry.
Men’s lacrosse
St. Joe’s 17, UMF 4
PORTLAND — The University of Maine at Farmington men’s lacrosse team opened the 2016 campaign on Wednesday afternoon with a 17-4 non-conference loss to Saint Joseph’s College at Deering Memorial Stadium.
The Monks jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first period before Travis St. Pierre got the Beavers on the scoreboard with a goal at 11:06 in the second quarter. UMF took advantage of a slashing penalty by St. Joe’s, and St. Pierre found the back of the net for the man-up goal with the assist coming from Cameron McAllister.
Caleb Carr recorded eight saves in net for the Beavers in his collegiate debut.
Michael Finn and Luigi Grimaldi led the St. Joseph’s offense with three goals apiece. Connor Trainor earned the win and saved four shots for the Monks.
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