PRESQUE ISLE, ME
UMPI Men's Basketball is red hot as they extended their winning streak to five games with a victory over Thomas College on Saturday as they split the season series with the Terriers. The Owls rode a 20-0 run to close out the first half to the victory.
How it Happened:
Teams traded baskets all the way until it was 9-9 before Thomas started to get hot. The Terriers hit four three-point attempts in a row to go up 20-15 prompting an UMPI timeout. Thomas was able to keep UMPI at bay, a little while longer, holding on to a 26-22 lead as they hit a jumper with 9:26 left in the half.
Amazingly, that would be the last bucket they'd score in the half. The Owls took flight for the remainder of the half, rattling off a 20-0 run. The offense looked like its old self as they shot 8-13 from the field during the run including three treys. Thomas went Ice cold the second after they were red hot it seemed, as the Terriers went 0-12 overall during the run including eight missed three-pointers. The Owls cleaned up the glass very well also during this spell. After the half ended, it was safe to say UMPI had all the momentum and then some going into halftime, as they held Thomas scoreless for nine minutes and 26 seconds. The Owls led 42-26.
In the second half the Owls came out firing again though Thomas finally ended the drought on their first possession. UMPI hit a three with 13:47 remaining to take a 19 point lead at 56-37, but the game was far from over and that's the biggest they'd have it. Thomas began to kick it in gear again from there, albeit slowly. By 10 minutes it had shrunk to 62-49, and by the 6:24 mark it was a 10 point game at 65-55. But the Owls situational experience at this point in the year won out as they knew how to play with the lead. They took longer, methodical possessions and took care of the basketball, making it impossible for a Thomas comeback. UMPI hit their foul shots in the final minute as well and the final discrepancy of nine points is the closest the Terriers ever got. In the end it was an 87-78 final.
Top Performers:
Akhe McMichael had a break out game, going for 23 points on the night – nine of them came at free throw line. He also had eight rebounds and six assists as he stuffed the stat sheet. Tyson Enget was next with 16 points as he enjoyed a great day shooting the three-ball hitting half of UMPI's threes as a team going 4-6. Doug McCalla had 14 points and eight rebounds. Yamashita and Ishibashi each had nine points and Creech had eight points to round out the leaders for UMPI.
Next Up:
The Owls sweep the weekend for the second straight time, and extend their winning streak to five games as they improve to 7-10 overall. They are now 6-5 in conference play going into their toughest test of the year so far. Next Friday night they will host Maine Maritime Academy at 5:30 p.m., followed by the first place UMaine-Farmington Beavers on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
