DELHI, NY

The UMPI men began their NAC West road trip with a Sunday afternoon matchup with the SUNY Delhi Broncos. The Owls started the game off slow, and struggled from the floor in the first half, before righting the ship and closing out the game behind a 46-point second half.

How it Happened

The Owls and Broncos would trade leads throughout the early part of the game as it was tied at 17 with 11 minutes to go in the first. UMPI went on a 6-0 run to take control before Delhi chipped away at their slim margin and tied the game up at halftime, shutting out the Owls 7-0 over the final four minutes. The normally sharpshooting Owls, went cold from the field, shooting 35% in the first half and were just 1 of 5 from bonus range. But in the second half, they got back to more of what they've become accustomed to doing during this dream start to the season. The Owls crawled out to a slim lead once again and led by as many as nine points with under 12 minutes to go. Delhi continued to chip, chip away and even took a 60-59 lead with 6 minutes left. UMPI dug deep however, and closed out the game strong behind some solid defense, and an efficient enough offense that got the job done down the stretch. They would prevail by a score of 74-66.

Top Performers:

As the headline suggests, the Owls most seasoned player, Gilbert Jean Mendez led the team with 18 points. He also shot an efficient 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. Doug McCalla had a great day in the paint with 16 points in only 12 minutes played due to some early foul trouble. Akhe McMichael had 13 points going 5-10 from the field, and Saquan Carswell came up big off the bench once again with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Next Up:

The Owls improve to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in North Atlantic Conference play. They will have another big road conference matchup Monday at 3 p.m. against the NAC runners-up from last year, SUNY Cobleskill.