The University of Maine at Presque Isle men’s basketball team split its games in the Eastern Nazarene Holiday Tournament in Quincy, Mass. over the weekend and then dropped a contest to Central Maine Community College Monday.
The Owls, under first-year coach Mike Holmes, are now 4-2 overall.
UMPI’s victory was recorded Saturday over Green Mountain College by a score of 83-60. The Owls outrebounded their opponent, 47-32. Chase Vicaire had 16 points and Brandon McGill had 10 defensive rebounds to lead the way. In addition to Vicaire, four other UMPI players reached double figures in scoring. UMPI shot 38 percent from three-point land and was 52 percent overall from the field and 81 percent from the foul line.
The previous night, the Owls were bested by St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn, 61-60.
UMPI led by five points at halftime, but St. Joseph’s ability to control the offensive glass allowed them to seize momentum in the second half.
Owl freshman Kevin Collins (22 points) made several strong basket attacks and freshman Maurice Harris 11) contributed some inside finishes. Vicaire scored 13 points and snared six rebounds.
It was defense, however, that was the name of the game for the Owls in the first stanza. Freshman Quinton Harris provided a huge spark rebounding on both ends of the floor, and sophomore McGill (seven rebounds) also stood out on the defensive end. Maurice Harris had a game-high eight rebounds.
St. Joseph’s had 25 offensive rebounds in the game, which led to the comeback victory.
“It is no secret we are young, and we are not very big. Rebounding, however, cannot be our Achilles’ heel all year,” Holmes said. “For the most part, we are doing tons of things well for this stage of the year, but we need to address things that will get us beat.”
On Monday, CMCC handed UMPI a 69-64 defeat. Collins had 20 points and Vicaire added 17 in the loss. McGill led in the rebounding department with 10.
Cold shooting cost the Owls. They shot just 18 percent from beyond the three-point line and were 39 percent on free throws.
“It is a tough set of circumstances,” Holmes said, “playing our third road game in four days. The irony is that we handled the press exceptionally well, but turned it over due to our lack of patience in the half-court game.”
The Owls resume play Monday, Dec. 1 with a 7 p.m. game at NMCC.
Women gain first win
A trio of Owls scored 14 points apiece to secure a 66-22 road win over the Eastern Maine Community College Golden Eagles at Johnston Gymnasium in Bangor Monday.
Darby Toth, Brianna Losee and Campbell were UMPI’s top scorers. Campbell also grabbed 12 boards, had three steals and blocked three shots. Toth had turned in another complete game by adding five rebounds, seven assists and four steals in only 19 minutes of play. Losee came off the bench to tally 12 of her points in the second half and she added six steals.
The Golden Eagles took control of the game early behind four quick points from Morgan Card. The Owls had several chances early, but missed layups allowed EMCC to hold onto the lead for several minutes.
A strong inside move from Campbell seemed to ignite the Owls and gave the visitors a 6-4 lead with 15:23 on the clock. The Owls would not relinquish the lead the rest of the evening.
Sophomore Sydney Churchill had 10 points and five assists for the Owls, while Presque Isle native Katie Patenaude threw in a pair of three-pointers and had seven rebounds.
UMPI, now 1-2, will next play rival UM-Fort Kent at home on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m.
