Men's basketball team hustles to key win over SMCC

AUGUSTA, Maine - Senior Brandon Rogers scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as the University of Maine at Augusta men's basketball team picked up a crucial early-season victory over Southern Maine Community College, defeating the Seawolves 96-83 in Yankee Small College Conference action. 

In an up-tempo game that included five ties and eight lead changes, senior Keith Chesley (Clinton, Maine) and freshman Joseph Davila (Hartford, Conn.) nailed back-to-back three pointers with a little over three minutes remaining in regulation to put the Moose up by eight at 86-78, holding off what had been a furious 10-4 run by SMCC. 

UMA scored 50 points in the paint on the night, and made the most of their offensive rebounds, scoring 20 second chance points to just eight for the Seawolves. The Moose also carried the edge in rebounds, with 40 boards to 37 from SMCC. 

All five starters were in double-digits for head coach Jim Ford's team, led by Rogers (Turlock, Calif.) with 30, Chesley with 28, freshman Dallas Murray (Newport, R.I.) with 12 and eight assists, and Noah Thompson (Yuma, Ariz.) with 14. Davila scored eight of his ten points in the last three minutes of the game, including a pair of clutch free throws to help seal the victory. 

The win puts UMA (3-5, 2-2 YSCC) in third place behind Central Maine Community College and the University of Maine at Machias in the YSCC East Division. The Moose return to action on Monday night when the team hosts the University of Maine at Presque Isle at the Civic Center for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference match-up.