Waterville, ME – The CMCC "B" Men's Basketball team showed marked improvement over the course of this season with a 61-60 win over the Thomas College club team on Sunday. The Terriers defeated the Mustangs by 38 points when the teams had their first meeting in Auburn back on November 3rd, but Central Maine showed the fruits of its labor, putting together the team's best performance of the year to come away with a victory on the road.
"The effort, poise, attention to detail, and heart the guys showed today against a strong Thomas team was amazing," said head coach Jared Rubin. "I'm proud of the way they played in a tough environment. Every player stepped up and we played the right way from start to finish."
Miles Spear had a game-high 20 points with the Camden Hills Regional High School product knocking down 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc and adding another four field goals. Damon Beal joined him in double figures with 14 points while also grabbing 14 rebounds for a double-double.
The Mustangs went up 28-23 at halftime for a slim five-point advantage. It stayed close in the second half with Caden Boone converting a layup late on to put the visitors back on top. Ayden Jefferson hit two free throws at the end to make it a two-possession game and make a late bucket from the Terriers not enough to force overtime.
Kelson Custodio was Central Maine's next highest scorer with seven points while Jefferson finished with five. DeSean Trufant and Marckenzy Destin had six and four respectively off the bench. Newcomer Djordje Stanimirovic made his debut for CMCC in the contest, totaling three points in five minutes.
"Miles and Damon controlled the glass all game and Kelson, Gio, and Ayden made big defensive plays when we needed them," Rubin said. "Caden had a big layup to give us the lead at the end before Ayden hit two free throws to seal it."
The "B" Basketball squad has now won three in a row while enduring a stop-and-start campaign that has been disrupted by bad weather and rescheduled contests. The team is slated to face the Kents Hill School squad on the road on February 13th before a rescheduled game against Hampshire College later in the month.
