Auburn, ME – The CMCC Men's Basketball team led from start to finish, never trailing against NHTI, as the Mustangs strolled to a 106-86 victory over the defending YSCC champions. Khaden Moore and J.T. Pound both put up double-doubles with Wyatt Hathaway, E.J. Pemberton and Will Duke also reaching double figures in points.
Hathaway connected on a three-pointer 20 seconds into the game to give Central Maine the lead for good. The Leavitt Area High School graduate and all-time leading scorer in Hornets history scored all 16 of his points in the first half, as the Lynx deployed a box and one defense to try and limit him. His final basket of the day came on a layup with 8:55 remaining in the first that put the Mustangs up 44-21. The 23-point lead was its largest of the half.
CMCC worked its bench into the game in the second half with 14 players getting at least three minutes on the court. Pemberton scored 10 off the bench in the half to finish with 12 total and Pound finished the game with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The Mustangs took their biggest lead of the contest with 4:33 to play, going up by 28 points, as they cruised to the victory. Moore had a team-high 29 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds. Duke also got to double digits with 10 points to go along with five assists. For NHTI, Joseph Cantey had more than half his team's total with an outstanding 46-point effort from the senior out of Norwalk, CT.
CMCC shot 46.2% from the floor while outrebounding the Lynx 61-30. The Mustangs used their size advantage to get looks inside, finishing with 64 points in the paint. Men's basketball moves to 5-7 overall on the year and remains undefeated against USCAA D2 opposition with a 3-0 record in YSCC play.
Central Maine also avenges its loss to New Hampshire that ended its 2023 season with an 80-78 victory in the YSCC Tournament championship game. It comes on the same day that the men's soccer team defeated the team that ended its 2023 postseason, Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte.
The Mustangs get a little more than a week to rest before their next game, when they travel to Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences in New York on Saturday, November 23rd. CMCC next plays at home on December 6th against Berkeley College-NY.
