AUBURN - Central Maine Community College collected its fourth straight victory and Wyatt Hathaway had another splendid night from the perimeter as the Mustangs barrel toward the postseason. The CMCC men's basketball team (9-10), which enjoyed the support of their raucous fans, overpowered the University of Maine at Augusta with a 95-66 victory at jam-packed Kirk Hall on Tuesday night.
"We have been waiting all season for this offensive outburst and it was so good to see Wyatt to get on track," CM coach Dave Gonyea said. "We did a better job of sharing the ball. The defense was pretty good. An electric crowd really helped us get over the top. "I am just really proud of the guys tonight. I think they just put it all together. Four games in five days is not an easy thing - and I am really pleased with how it all went."Gonyea said this momentum toward the end of the regular season should help the Mustangs in the playoffs."You've got to win back to back days to go to the Yankee championship," he said. "I think we are conditioned pretty good. Confidence is high. We are just rolling along. It is just a good feeling."
Hathaway turned his 3-point shooting into a spectacle, going 9-for-13 from beyond the arc and piling a game-high 33 points. But Hathaway was quick to point out that he had a lot of help from his supportive teammates. "First of all, our point guard and wings did a really good job of finding me," Hathaway said. "Malik (Foster), Jackson (Birmingham), Cam (Pollock)" Boston (Caldwell) - everyone, really - especially those guys - they did a really good job finding me. "Like I said, (it was) really my teammates doing a really good job getting me the ball when I was open. I really appreciate them for that." Hathaway said spending more time in the gym is finally paying off for him as a 3-point shooter, too.
Caldwell dropped in 13 points and Jeremiah Simeon added 11 points along with 12 rebounds.
It was a neck-and-neck battle in the first half before the Mustangs opened up a 32-22 lead with 3:08 left in the opening half and eventually entered halftime with a 44-24 lead.
"Coach called a timeout," Hathaway explained. "We weren't playing as well. … We kind of let down a little bit. Coach came in and he said that we've got to start getting the ball together … after that we all started sharing the ball and people kept finding me."
The Mustangs never lost a step in the second half, dominating the Moose with a 51-point performance.
