Auburn, ME – Josh Cote and Kaleb Benjamin combined to score 36 points including 8 three's to lead the Mustangs to an important road win Wednesday by defeating Unity College 79-74. With captain Rob Skinner out nursing a sore hamstring, Sheveran Hardy and Kionno Nelson stepped up and took over the point guard spot. Hardy dished out 7 assists and recorded 6 points in a steady performance.
CM jumped out to a 28-19 lead early on rotating 12 men in and out of the lineup. A Benjamin three at the halftime buzzer bumped the lead to 50-39.
The Rams made a significant push mid-way through the second half and tied the game. A nifty pass to Josh Cote for an alley oop layup put the Mustangs up for good with three minutes remaining in the game. Hardy then put the game away with a three from the top of the circle that increased the lead to five point under a minute on the clock to secure the victory.
The Mustangs understood from the get go; they were playing a hungry Ram squad. Between Merrill and Tocci, they are explosive shooters and lived up to expectations: they recorded 11 threes and kept Unity into the game. Also on the table was the coaching experience of Coach Bob Witts. According to Coach Gonyea, "Coach Witts is probably the best coach in our conference and gets everything out of his players. We knew going in this was going to be a battle. Our kids play hard and do not give up and playing against a Coach Witts team, you will see the same intensity. We were very fortunate to come out with a win."
With the win, CM improves its conference record to 10-0 and 16-8 overall.