Auburn, ME – CMCC Men's Basketball suffered its third loss of YSCC play Wednesday night, falling just short against UMaine-Augusta, 84-82 at Kirk Hall. Khaden Moore and Will Duke each scored 20 points for the Mustangs, but a last-second drive to the hoop was turned away as the Moose hung on for the upset win.
Before the game, CMCC honored captain Wyatt Hathaway on his accomplishment of scoring 1,000 career points during the team's road trip last weekend. The Leavitt Hornets product was joined by his family on the court prior to starting lineup introductions, posing with a framed photo while a video containing congratulatory messages from former teammates played on the jumbotron. Hathaway is the 16th player in program history to reach the milestone.
In a narrative that's becoming all too common for the Mustangs, the team started slow and went into the second half trailing, only to have a spirited comeback to make the game tight at the end. UMaine-Augusta led by 12 at halftime thanks to Yonas Medfu and Donte Sharp putting up 14 points apiece. The Moose shot an astounding 53.1% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Dunks from Moore and Riley Bowen got the large home crowd fired up as the teams traded the lead back-and-forth through the first ten minutes. But the visitors pulled away down the stretch, going on a 21-10 run by knocking down jumpers and converting free throws at the line.
Like the team had done in games on the road against Washington County and VTSU-Randolph, the Mustangs flipped the script in the second half. Back-to-back buckets by Moore gave the hosts some momentum, and Duke, Rocco Chang, and Da'Vohn Jonas drained shots from outside to cut the deficit to 64-53 with 12:10 to play. Chang in particular caught fire in the second half splashing three three-pointers. Two layups and a triple from Duke made it a one-possession game with 8:36 remaining.
While CMCC got close, it could never quite draw even with UMA. The Moose went up 84-78 with 3:24 to play before the Mustangs held them without a point for the remainder of the contest. Two free throws from Chang made it a four-point game with a minute to go and Hathaway laid the ball up and in with 30 seconds left to draw within a basket of a tied game. The defense forced Medfu into a turnover and head coach Dave Gonyea used his final timeout to draw up one last play.
In the end, the Mustangs put the ball in their captain's hands. Hathaway drove the lane in the final seconds but was cut off by two defenders. His sly behind-the-back pass intended for Alex Brigitte was poked away by the pursuing Trevor Beals, and UMaine-Augusta held on for its biggest win of the season.
Chang joined Moore and Duke in double figures with 16 points, while Medfu led UMA with a game-high 27. CMCC was once again good on the boards, controlling the rebound battle 40 to 29, but could not match the red-hot shooting Moose from the field.
The weary Mustangs next finish off their busy stretch of six games over nine days with a trip to Concord, NH to face NHTI on Thursday, January 30th. Tip-off against the Lynx is scheduled for 8:00 pm.
