PRESQUE ISLE, ME
It was a long wait, but UMPI Men are finally back in the win column as they grinded out a win over SUNY Delhi on Tuesday afternoon. It was eerily similar to their loss to Cobleskill the day before in many ways. The game stayed tight the whole way with neither team ever taking a double-digit lead, and the teams traded runs over the final few minutes. But unlike the day prior, UMPI was able to put themselves on the winning side of things.
How it Happened:
The game played out similarly to the day prior with neither team having a full grasp on the game at any point. In the same way, the Owls trailed throughout much of the first half. Delhi's biggest lead came with 6:28 in the half when they jumped ahead 34-28, but the Owls fought back hard to close out the half on a good run. They rallied off a 13-3 run to take a four point lead which was trimmed to two after a buzzer-beating tip-in for the Broncos made it 41-39 at the half.
In the second, UMPI played from ahead most of the way, but again never seemed to have full control. They vied to get hot at the right time, which was something that always seemed to haunt them so far this season. Leading by one with 5:45 to go, UMPI went on a slow 7-1 run to take a 68-61 lead with 3:36 left. Then it was the Broncos turn. Delhi responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie it at 68 all with 2:05 to go. Throughout the final two minutes, the Owls went to the line several times and the fundamentals ultimately won out. They made 5 of their last six attempts from the charity stripe, to finish the day 25-31 (80.6%) at the line.
None were bigger than those of Akhe McMichael that made it a two possession game with 11.1 seconds remaining. Delhi would tack on a desperation three with 0.4 seconds left but it wouldn't be enough thanks to the Owls icing the game at the line. 73-71 would be the final.
Top Performers:
Tyson Enget continues to impress, and this time he led with 17 points. He went 5-7 shooting which included a three. He also went 6 of 7 from the line. Most impressively, Enget added seven assists on the day. Doug McCalla had another productive day, this time with a double-double in his second game back. He had 14 and 11 to lead the Owls on the glass. Akhe McMichael had 13 points, including 6 of 6 from the line. Yuki Ishibashi gave great minutes from off the bench, tacking on 14 points thanks to a couple threes.
Next Up:
UMPI will have a couple days of practice before they hit the road for Northern Vermont as they'll face VTSU Lyndon and VTSU Johnson this Saturday and Sunday. Both games will be conference games as with a sweep, the Owls will be right back in the thick of things in the NAC. With this win over Delhi they improve to 3-10 overall and 2-5 in conference.
