By Beacon Sports Staff

This past weekend the women’s and men’s basketball teams took to the court jointly, opening their 2017-2018 non-conference and YSCC seasons. It was the first time this year that the teams played on the same day in the Hutchinson Gymnasium. The Lady SeaWolves took to the floor against a very athletic and talented Navy Prep team in the first game; the men finished off the day’s two games against Holyoke Community College.

The Lady SeaWolves played the Navy Prep Rams tough in the first five minutes of the first half, pulling within 1 point after an Abigail Ramirez layup with a few seconds more than five minutes remaining (16-15). The Rams would out-score the ‘Wolves 16-4 over the course of the final minutes of the quarter, building a 32-19 lead that the SeaWolves would never cut into.

The second quarter saw both teams struggle offensively as the Navy Rams would manage 10 points and the Lady ‘Wolves score 7. After 20 minutes of play, Navy Prep held a 42-26 lead.

With the Rams thoroughly in control of the game for the first half, there was no letup in the third quarter, as Navy Prep outscored SMCC 27-13. After 30 minutes of play the Rams had built a 30-point lead (69-39). The SeaWolves would outscore Navy Prep in the final quarter 12-10, finalizing a 71-49 score.

Individually, the Lady SeaWolves were led by first-year guard Abigail Ramirez, who scored a team-high 14 points. Alicia Ruth and Amanda Brett both hit for 6 points; Lauryn Fagan and Grace Kariotis dropped in 5 points apiece.

The Lady SeaWolves now stand at one win and two losses, and look to get on the winning side again when they travel to Paul Smith’s on the 10th. The SMCC squad takes to the home court on the 12th when they play St. Clair County Community College at 11 a.m.

The SMCC Men SeaWolves came into Saturday’s game starting the season 3-0. After the day’s great showing from the SeaWolves at home, they now stand at 4-0, and have been playing very well thus far this season.

Throughout the game the SeaWolves outplayed Holyoke Community College, and were the aggressors. It was a full-team effort today; everyone on the squad was afforded playing time. Freshman Willie Brown had the honor of being top scorer, hitting for 19 points while coming off the bench. As a team, the SeaWolves would generate 30 points from beyond the three-point line, shooting 10-24.

SMCC would hold the lead throughout the game, as Holyoke never held the lead at any point in the game. With 4:14 left on the clock for the first half, Holyoke tied the game at 22. After that, SMCC got a stranglehold on the game and never looked back. When the first-half buzzer sounded, SMCC held a 13-point lead (38-25).

Throughout the contest, the SeaWolves didn’t only rely on winning the offensive battles. Their hard work on defense, getting into the dirty areas, forced numerous Holyoke turnovers while helping the ‘Wolves make seamless transitions from the defensive to the offensive side of the court .

Timothy Dixon’s no-look, behind-the-back pass to Tyler Mickle, who subsequently scored with a layup, could be considered the play of the game. The play energized the crowd and highlighted some of the capabilities that the SeaWolves have on the offensive side of the court. All in all, it seemed that the players fed off the energy and used it to take their play to a higher level.

SMCC held on to a 20-point lead for the majority of the second half. It was an entertaining game to watch, and exactly how you’d want your team to play starting the season. The men have a few days off until they hit the road to play Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York. The SeaWolves will return to the HUB Gym on the 12th when they take to the court against St. Clair County CC in a 1 p.m. game.

In each of the first four games of the season, the basketball team has played extremely well, with each win being in the double digits. That’s an extremely impressive start to the season.