SMCC squads move on, as do all higher seeds 

By Beacon Sports Staff 

The YSCC Elite 8 postseason tournament tipped off in the Hutchinson Union Building last Thursday afternoon, with a full day of basketball scheduled as the top eight women’s teams looked to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round. The men’s top eight would play Friday with the same intent in mind: to advance to the semifinals on Saturday.

The women’s action tipped off at 2 p.m., with the Lady Moose of the University of Maine–Augusta taking to the court against the College of Saint Joseph’s of Vermont. After 40 minutes of play, the Moose would walk off the court with an 84–59 win. The Moose produced lead YSCC Player of the Year recipient Jamie Plummer, who finished with a game-high 27 points.

Central Maine Community College took on Hampshire College, and would advance like expected as the No. 1 seed, 99–39. The Mustangs would be led by Brooke Reynolds, who scored 19 points.

Game 3 saw the University of Maine–Machias tip off against the our own Seawolves.

The Seawolves would advance to the semis with balanced scoring, as Kaylah Abdul, Alicia Ruth and Hannah Heald would hit double figures: 15, 13 and 11, respectively.

The day’s final game pitted Vermont Tech against New Hampshire Technical Institute, and saw the Lynx surviving continual offensive pushes by Vermont that cut into the Lynx’s established lead. The Lynx would be led by Melissa Martel, who found the bottom of the net for 31. Paige Wells and Kiana Royers would lead the Knights of Vt. Tech, with 19 and 15, respectively.

The quarterfinal play for the men’s side of the court would take place Friday; the first game of the day tipped off at 2:30. Earlier Friday all participating teams gathered at the DoubleTree Hotel for the YSCC Awards Banquet. The highlight of the awards ceremony was the unexpected yet well-earned awarding of Men’s Player of the Year to SMCC’s John Morgan. UMA’s Jamie Plummer received the Women’s Player of the Year award.

The first game of the day had Great Bay Community College take to the court against the No. 1-seeded NHTI. While Great Bay was outmanned and outsized, they gave the Lynx quite the battle before falling 109–94. Great Bay’s Tyler White would take home high-scoring honors; he drained 38 points. The Lynx were led by Dante Ramos, who finished the day with a double-double, scoring 28 and grabbing 10 boards. Javan Parkinson would also finish with a double-double, scoring 17 points and ripping 10 boards.

The fifth-seeded College of Saint Joseph’s of Vermont would pull off the upset of the quarterfinals: they stymied Vermont Tech and cruised to a 20-point win. The Saints would outscore the Knights in the second half by 16, as game high-scorer Kareem Brown hit for 14 of his 22. Teammates Antonio Gordon, Darren White and Jonathan Brioso would also hit double figures, rounding out the Saints’ balanced scoring, 16, 14, 13 and 12, respectively.

The Seawolves took to the court against the Moose of UMA in the 6:30 game and set the tone from the tip, doubling the Moose’s offensive output and building a 53–26 lead by halftime. Dustin Simpson-Bragg would grab top-scoring honors, as he hit for 43. The Wolves would end the game with balanced scoring, Ryan Cloutier and John Morgan each netting 18. Keanyon Lambert would hit double figures with 14, while Anderson Kavutse contributed 11. As the final buzzer sounded, the Wolves had secured a place in the semis with a 101–67 win.

The final game of the day featured third-seeded CMCC tipping off against the Clippers of UMaine Machias. The Mustangs would grab a 42–31 halftime lead over the Clippers, building on it to a 17-point win. The Mustangs would be led by Rob Skinner’s 22, as Nicolas would lead the Clippers with 15.

The Mustang victory set up a third game with the Seawolves in Saturday’s semifinal play. The game would be the third time the teams would face each other this season, and prove to be one of the most exciting games of the tournament.